Safety in Hell
by IKillZombiesForFun
Summary: After all the fighting we did, please don't let that be our fate...  What happens to the survivors after The Bridge
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Valve did a comic to tell the fates of the L4D1 survivors but never says what happens to the L4D2 survivors, it's been driving me crazy. So, I decided to create my own. Enjoy!

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><p>The late afternoon sun shone brightly across the deep blue water. Jets could be heard in the distance followed by the occasional explosion of dropping bombs. A military helicopter circled over the destroyed bridge.<p>

The copilot looked out the side window. They had received a radio transmission from some survivors that were on the bridge, looking for safety.

From above, the bridge seemed still and quiet. On the bridge was another story.

"RUN, RUN, RUN!" The heavyset man yelled to his team. He raised his shotgun, shooting over his teammates' ducked heads.

The woman ran past, gasping for breath. She quickly reloaded and turned to fight, waiting for the other two.

"Kid, look out!" The dark haired man in the once fancy white suit, shoved the Southerner next to him to the ground.

A loud growl of rage echoed against the steel beams of the bridge as a small Saturn flew over the two on the ground.

Coach jumped out of the way. The car hit Rochelle and she flew. She hit the pavement hard.

"Boys, I'm down!" she cried frantically.

Ellis pulled Nick to his feet. "C'mon, we're almost there!"

Coach ran over to the fallen survivor and started to help her up.

The Tank beat its meaty fists onto the bridge before running at the survivors.

"Shoot the damn Tank!" Nick yelled, opening fire onto the gaining beast.

Ellis turned and ran back to Nick's side. "Helicopter's here! Let's go!" he yelled over the Tank's growls and the sound of helicopter blades.

Nick ceased fire and started to run in the direction of rescue.

The helicopter hovered above the ground for a moment before carefully landing on what was left of the off ramp of the bridge. The blades whirled, the sound of the engine drawing in more infected.

Nick and Ellis forced themselves forward, muscles screaming and lungs burning. Coach and Rochelle slowed, allowing the two to catch up.

Ellis' legs started to give out and he stumbled. The momentary weakness did not go unnoticed. The familiar pink/purple tongue wrapped itself around the mechanic's waist and throat. He was yanked backward and dragged the way he came.

"Smoker's got me!" He choked out.

The other survivors stopped and turned.

"Ellis!" Rochelle cried.

Nick waved his hand. "Keep going! We'll catch up!" he yelled at Coach and Rochelle. He ran in Ellis' direction.

Coach and Rochelle turned and ran toward rescue.

The tongue tightened around Ellis, cutting off his breath. His hands tried to pry the slimy tongue from around his throat but he couldn't get a firm enough grip. The pavement burned and tore his skin as he was dragged along.

His vision started to blur, his lungs begging for oxygen.

He saw Nick running toward him, gun raised.

"Shoot the tongue..." Ellis managed to choke out.

Nick started shooting frantically, but not at the Smoker that had now come into view.

Ellis froze when he heard the deafening growls. The tongue slackened and green smoke brought visibility down to zero.

Ellis took in deep breaths and coughed. Gunshots rang close by but the smoke was still too thick to see where they were coming from or for what they were intended for.

Nick swore loudly from close by.

"Nick?" Ellis called out.

The Tank was close. The ground shook violently and the smoke swirled as large objects were thrown about.

Pain shot through Ellis' body. He screamed.

The smoke cleared and Ellis looked up into the Tank's face. Anger flared in its eyes. It growled and brought its fists down onto Ellis' body again.

The world exploded and went black.

Nick reloaded and swore again. The Tank growled in victory as Ellis stopped moving. The conman aimed and pulled the trigger.

The monster howled in pain and spun around. His fist hit Nick's abdomen and he flew. The breath was knocked out of him and he couldn't move.

The Tank snorted and started toward the fallen survivor. Nick raised his pistol and met the beast's eyes.  
>"I have not come this far to die now!" He emptied the clip in seconds and reloaded.<br>More gunshots accompanied his. Coach and Rochelle stepped into Nick's field of vision. Coach firing at the Tank while Rochelle grabbed Nick's arms and pulled him to his feet.  
>The Tank fell dead as the sound of an oncoming horde sounded.<br>"You just can't win." Nick grumbled.  
>Coach grabbed Ellis under the arms and the kid's eyes fluttered opened and he gasped with pain.<br>"C'mon, boy, we ain't got time for this!" Coach yelled over the growing noise of infected.  
>Once Ellis was on his feet, they took off. Nick and Ellis immediately fell behind, limping as fast as they could despite their fresh injuries.<br>"Almost there!" Rochelle yelled, out of breath.  
>The group was surrounded as the horde caught up to them.<br>"I need some help over here!" Ellis yelled. He was down on the ground, zombies stomping and punching him.  
>"Shit!" Nick ripped the pipe bomb from his belt and threw it as hard as he could.<p>

The infected took off, growling and fighting to get closer to the beeping explosive.

Rochelle bent down and helped Ellis to his feet. "I'm no nurse, but you look pretty messed up... go down again and that's it for you..." she said.

"Thanks, Ro," Ellis gave her a weak smile.  
>"OH HELL NAW!" Coach yelled and took off.<br>The helicopter, there last source of rescue, was lifting off the ground and taking off.  
>"Hey! We're right here!" Rochelle screamed. The team sprinted the last few meters to the hovering aircraft.<br>"Jump!" Rochelle jumped into the back of the helicopter. She turned and held out her hand to the three men still running.  
>Nick gritted his teeth against the pain and jumped and landed next to Rochelle. She grabbed the back of his coat and pulled him in the aircraft.<br>"Are you OK?" Rochelle asked.  
>Nick nodded and wiped the blood off his chin from his split lip.<br>"Hey, stop the helicopter!" Coach yelled. He jumped and landed with a thud on the partially raised ramp. He slipped and almost fell. Rochelle grabbed his arm and held on with all the strength she had left in her arms.  
>"Hold on!" she cried.<br>The helicopter lifted high above the ground and took off.  
>Rochelle looked at the makeshift landing pad. Another tank stood where the helicopter had been moments ago. Dozens of infected swarmed around him.<p>

"Where's Ellis?" Rochelle asked quietly.

Nick grabbed Coach's other hand and started to pull the man up.

Coach looked down. "You alright there, young'n?" he asked.

"Fine," Ellis choked out. He gripped Coach's ankle and shut his eyes tightly, forcing himself not to look down. His grip was slipping.

Nick and Rochelle struggled to pull Coach and Ellis up. The helicopter rolled.

"Shit!" Coach cried as he almost flew off ramp. "Hold on, boy!"

"C'mon, Coach!" Nick grabbed a handful of the older man's shirt and pulled with all his remaining strength. Rochelle bent down and grabbed Ellis' arm once Coach was in the helicopter.

Coach turned around and helped pull the youngest survivor into the helicopter.

The ramp closed with a metallic clang and engulfed the small team in darkness.

Nick slumped next to Ellis who was lying on his back, breathing heavy.

Nick sighed. "It's been a long time since I felt this bad..." he muttered. He felt Rochelle move up against him.

Ellis groaned. "I hurt so bad I don't even see right."

"It's alright, we're safe now. We just gotta get through this helicopter ride." Coach said.

"Let's just hope these pilots don't become infected like the last one." Nick muttered.

Ellis groaned again. "I don't think I can survive another helicopter crash."

Rochelle shot Nick a piercing glare in the darkness. "Don't worry, Ellis, we'll be fine."

Ellis tried his best to sit up. "But you saw what them walls said. Kill all carriers, what if we're carriers?"

"Then once we get there, they'll line us up along a wall and shoot us." Nick snapped.

"That's enough out of you, Suit!" Coach yelled.

Ellis coughed violently, a searing pain radiating through his chest cavity. Every inhale felt like swallowing shards of glass.

"Ellis, sweetie, just lay down and relax. The military's not going to be shooting any of us." Rochelle said in a calm tone.

In the near darkness, she could make out Ellis' silhouette, laying back down.

She closed her eyes and sighed. Her mind floated back to the past 24 hours. Walking along the streets, Ellis and Nick in the lead. Bodies covered the streets, but that was something they had all grown used to. What Ellis said, however, made her stop dead in her tracks.

"None of them bodies are zombies," the kid muttered in a quiet horror.

Rochelle looked down at the woman at her feet. The woman's eyes were a clear blue instead of the illuminating yellow of the infected. Her skin was pale but not the sickly pale like the zombies. The bodies next to her were the same.

Later on, once in safety behind the red steel door, she watched as Ellis paled upon reading the graffiti on the walls.

"Kill all carriers?" he muttered. He looked up at Coach with wide eyes.

Coach sighed deeply as he also began to read. "Immune but still carry the disease." he read.

Nick snorted and went about healing himself.

Rochelle walked over and stood on the other side of Coach.

"They're shootin' innocent people 'cause they might be carriers?" Ellis asked.

Rochelle swallowed. "Settle down, Ellis."

Ellis turned back to the wall. "What if we're carriers?" he asked quietly.

"What you talking about, boy?" Coach asked.

Ellis continued to stare at the writing on the wall. "What if it was 'cause of us that helicopter pilot got infected... and what 'bout Virgil? What if we spread it to him too?"

Now, in the safety of the helicopter, Ellis' and Nick's words rang in her head. Rochelle opened her eyes and looked at the three men beside her. All three had fallen asleep.

Rochelle leaned her head on Nick's shoulder and closed her eyes again. What she saw frightened her.

She was facing a brick wall. Nick stood to her left, Ellis to her right.

She looked at Nick, his fist were clenched and he was softly shaking his head. He was muttering something to himself over and over. "I told you so, I told you so, I told you so."

She turned her head and looked at Ellis. The young man was shaking with a few tears silently falling down his face. He looked at the ground, his lips moving in what looked like a silent prayer.

Multiple shotguns were cocked. Rochelle tensed and her eyes opened as the guns went off. Tears were streaming down her face.

She hugged Nick's arm tightly for comfort in the darkness. The beating of the helicopter blades soothed her. Rochelle sighed, letting her heartbeat slow to normal. Coach's snores echoed in the small space along with Ellis' shallow, ragged breaths. Nick muttered something in his sleep and adjusted.

Rochelle sighed again and closed her eyes. The image of the wall flashed back again. _Dear God, after all the fighting we did, please don't let that be our fate..._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Here's Ch 2, hope you like it :)

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><p>The helicopter landed roughly, awaking the four survivors.<p>

"What time is it?" Nick asked, still groggy. He stretched, pleased with the various cracks his spine made.

Rochelle sat up straight and massaged her stiff neck. "How long were we out?"

Coach groaned from somewhere in the darkness.

"Hard to tell with no windows," Nick grumbled.

Ellis stirred and tried to sit up. He yelped. "Are we there yet?" he asked, pain in his voice.

Rochelle stood up and stretched before carefully walking to the door that lead to the cockpit. She grabbed the handle but it wouldn't budge. She knocked lightly.

"Hello?" she called out.

Silence.

Nick gripped the wall and forced himself to his feet. He walked in the direction of Rochelle's voice until he found the door. He pounded fiercely with his fist.

"Anyone in there?" he called. "Open up!"

When there was no answer, the two backed away from the door, weapons raised.

Coach grabbed his Magnum and stood up. "Another infected pilot?" he asked.

Ellis grabbed his gun and forced himself into a sitting position. "We infected more people?" he asked, worried.

"No, Ellis, now stop with that shit!" Nick growled. He gripped his gun and kicked the door. It rattled but didn't open. No sound came from behind the door.

"Get ready," Coach said.

Nick kicked the door again. This time, the hinges gave out and the door clattered to the floor of the helicopter. Instinctively, the four tensed and had fingers ready at the trigger, waiting for what horror would jump out at them.

"It's empty..." Rochelle said, shocked.

Coach stepped forward and stuck his head in the doorway and looked around. "They're gone," he announced.

"Gone?" Ellis asked.

With a loud clang, the ramp behind the survivors lowered.

Nick, Rochelle and Coach spun around, weapons at the ready.

They were greeted by a line of military men, in full camouflage, all with fully automatic guns aimed at the four survivors. The one in front placed his finger on the trigger.

"Drop your weapons! NOW!" he yelled in a deep, gruff voice.

Nick, Rochelle and Coach looked down at their weapons and exchanged confused glances.

"I have authorization to use deadly force!" the gruff voiced man barked. "Now drop your weapons!"

Rochelle bent down and slowly set her Scar down. Coach and Ellis followed suit, dropping their Spas 12's. Nick glared at the men before him before dropping his AK-47.

The man in front motioned to the men behind him. "Get them."

Some of the men quickly seized the dropped the guns while the rest rushed into the helicopter.

"What the hell?" Nick yelled.

Two men grabbed Rochelle and pulled her out of sight before anyone could react.

"Let go of her!" Nick swung out and hit one of the military men in the mouth. Warm blood dripped down Nick's fist but he didn't notice nor care.

Coach was dragged past Nick. "Let go o' me! I can walk!" the older man cried.

More men entered the helicopter. They grabbed at Nick and Ellis as Coach was also dragged out of sight.

"Sir, you are resisting arrest." one of the soldiers said.

"Arrest for what? For surviving?" Nick spat. Two men grabbed his arms and forced them behind his back. Nick fought with all the strength he had but his previous injuries from the bridge were taking their toll. He felt something familiar and metal clasp around his wrist. Handcuffs.

A woman's scream sounded close by. The gruff voiced man was barking orders over the chaos.

Ellis was yanked from his place on the floor. He screamed in pain and tried to fight but his attempts were weak.

Another scream sounded, farther off this time.

Nick suddenly threw his weight against one of the soldiers holding him. The soldier hit the metal wall of the helicopter with a thud and slumped to the floor. The other soldier let go of Nick to help up his fallen comrade.

Nick turned to the last soldier in the helicopter. He held Ellis' arms behind his back. Ellis was pale and turning six different shades of green. He was badly injured and needed medical attention. He looked up at Nick with wide eyes.

"Nick!" Ellis cried.

There was the sound of metal hitting bone, extreme agony in the back of Nick's head and then nothing. Nick's eyes rolled back into his head before he crumpled to the floor.

The two soldiers that had held him before, grabbed Nick's arms and dragged his unconscious body out of the helicopter.

Panic seized Ellis and he began to flail. "Lemme go!" he cried. The pain in his chest was immense but none of that mattered, all that mattered was getting away from the soldiers.

"Knock it off, kid." the soldier holding his arms snapped. He lead the struggling Ellis out of the helicopter and into the bright light.

Ellis blinked against the harsh light of the sun. He felt dizzy and sick. The ground beneath his feet seemed to not exist.

Coach and Rochelle came into view. Men in camouflage surrounded them, guns raised. Rochelle gasped once she saw Nick and Ellis. Ellis tried to cry for help but his throat refused to make words.

The man behind Ellis threw him to the pavement as Rochelle screamed. As soon as he hit the pavement, he curled into a ball. His arms wrapped protectively around his broken chest, he waited for his vision to return. His eyes teared from the sudden impact with the ground and the tears ran down his face.

"Stop it!" Rochelle cried. She glared up at the men surrounding them. "He's hurt! He needs a doctor and needs it now!"

One of the men sighed deeply and looked down at the young man curled up in front of him. He turned to one of his comrades. "See if Dr. Sanchez is taking patients this early."

One of the smaller soldiers saluted him and ran off.

"He needs one too." Rochelle pointed to the conman next to Ellis.

One of the soldiers rubbed their shoulder and winced. "Yeah, we'll deal with him." he grumbled.

The small soldier and a middle aged man ran up.

"They say these two need medical attention." the gruff voiced soldier said.

The middle aged man bent down and quickly examined the two injured survivors. Rochelle took into note how he tried not to touch them anymore than what was necessary.

"Clean them all up and bring them to the med wing, I'll see what I can do." the doctor said.

He turned and walked away, wiping his hands on his pants.

The soldiers bent down and pulled Ellis and Nick up.

Ellis whimpered. His legs refused to support him.

"Stand up, kid," the soldier holding him up snapped.

Nick groaned from where he lay on the pavement. He opened his eyes and squinted against the light. He looked up and saw the camouflaged men and instantly began to kick and try to get to his feet.

"Nick, stop, they're trying to help," Rochelle said, her voice raised an octave as a gun was put against the fleshy underside of Nick's jaw.

"Bullshit," Nick muttered.

The four were led into a small building on the west side of the military base. Inside multiple shower stalls lined the walls. The tiling was a pale green that sickeningly resembled the Boomer vomit residue still clinging to the survivors' clothing.

A woman in a hazmat suit walked up pushing a hamper.

The soldiers released Coach, Rochelle and Ellis. The soldier holding the gun to Nick's throat pulled out a key ring and jingled the keys.

"If I let you go, will you promise to behave?" the soldier asked with a smirk.

"I'm not making any promises," Nick said smugly.

The handcuffs were removed from his wrists and he rubbed the red indents they had left behind.

The woman in the hazmat suit cleared her throat and motioned to the hamper beside her.

"Dirty clothes go in here, soap and shampoo is located in the showers. Towels and fresh clothing are behind you. You have ten minutes," she said in an icy voice that seemed to lack human emotion.

Rochelle looked at the men around her. She turned back to the woman. "We're just supposed to strip down right here? In front of everyone?" she asked uneasily.

"You're wasting time," was all the woman said.

Nick sighed and pulled off his coat. "Screw it, I want a hot shower," he muttered. He unbuttoned the blue shirt underneath and tossed both into the hamper.

Rochelle turned away as Coach and Ellis also began to undress.

"The hat too," Rochelle heard the woman snap.

Ellis sighed from behind Rochelle.

Water started to run from the showers. Rochelle peeked over her shoulder and saw her three companions were gone. She quickly undressed, feeling the military men's eyes on her back. A few snickered. She ignored them and stepped into the first stall she came to.

The water was hotter than she expected and she yelped.

"You alright?" she heard Ellis ask, worry thick in his voice.

"I'm fine, sweetie," she assured him. She went about her shower, watching as the water started clear and gradually grew pink and then a green/brown sludge. She shook out her hair, realizing how weighed down it had been from blood, gore and anything else they had come in contact with the past month or two.

Without warning, the water shut off.

"Time's up," the woman said.

Rochelle stepped out of the stall and grabbed a towel and wrapped herself up before joining the other three in the next room.

Coach was fully dressed in the silvery blue jogging pants and a black t-shirt that were provided. Ellis struggled to pull his t-shirt over his bruised shoulders and chest. Nick stood shirtless and tossed Rochelle identical pants and shirt.

The three men respectively averted their eyes as Rochelle quickly dressed.

Ellis leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

"Turn any greener and you'll match the wall," Nick said to him. The younger man opened his eyes and looked up at him, too tired to reply.

The door opened and the woman in the hazmat suit entered. "Please follow me," she said sternly.

They followed her out the door.

"Where's the rest of your buddies?" Nick asked the woman, taking notice of the absent soldiers.

Rochelle elbowed him. "Shut up," she muttered.

The building they entered was made of white brick, the interior was painted the same pukey green the showers had been. The halls were long and brightly lit. Thick, steel doors lined the halls, each with their own deadbolt and tiny prison window.

The woman led them to the end of the hall and guided them into a small hospital room. The room was green like the rest of the building, there was no window and the only thing occupying the room was a bed and a sink.

"Dr. Sanchez will be with you shortly," the woman said before slamming the door and locking it.

Nick yanked on the heavy door but it didn't budge.

"What the hell," Coach muttered and leaned against the wall.

"I thought this was 'safety', I'd rather be out with the zombies," Nick growled.

Ellis sat on the bed next to Rochelle. He looked down at his hands.

Rochelle put a hand on his trembling shoulder, swallowing her own fear.

"Why are they treating us like this?" Ellis asked no one in particular.

Nick tried the door again but got the same result as before. "I don't know but I'm getting out of here." He tried the door again, it didn't move.

"You know, they say that the definition of stupidity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result," Rochelle said.

Nick glared at her. Without taking his eyes off her, he yanked on the door again. This time the door opened. Nick crashed to the floor, not prepared for the sudden movement.

The middle aged man from earlier walked in with a different woman in a hazmat suit.

"I'm Dr. Sanchez," he said, flipping through a clipboard. He grabbed the pen from behind his ear. "I'm gonna need your names and ages, please."

"Rochelle, 29"

"Coach, 44"

Nick got up from the floor and crossed his arms. "Nick, 35"

"Ellis, 23"

The doctor looked up at Ellis. "23?" his eyebrows raised. "I think that's the youngest we've gotten so far."

The woman grabbed something out of her pocket and walked over to Coach. She took the item and tied it around Coach's bicep. She then moved to Rochelle and Ellis.

"What are those?" Nick asked, suspiciously.

"Identification bands. We use them to identify a person's status. Blue is uninfected but prone to infection, yellow is immune, red is carrier, white is unidentified and black is infected and to be dealt with. They are to be kept on at all times, if you do not have a band on, you will be shot," Dr. Sanchez said. He scribbled a few notes on his clipboard.

Nick let the woman put the white band around his arm. He looked and saw the other three had white as well. The doctor had yellow and the woman had blue.

Dr. Sanchez set his clipboard down and pulled four needles out of his coat pocket. "Now I need to take blood samples for testing."

"Testing? What for?" Ellis asked.

"For the infection, there's a chance you are not immune but in fact carriers and carry the disease. Carriers are a major threat to the rest of the people here and so we must make sure all newcomers are immune," the doctor said.

Ellis paled and looked down.

Dr. Sanchez took a sample from each of the survivors. "We'll be back with your results shortly." He motioned for the woman to follow him. The door shut and was locked once again.

"Now what?" Nick asked.

"We wait," Coach said. Rochelle hopped up and let him take her spot on the bed.

Ellis fiddled with the white band around his arm. He sighed and gasped with the pain it caused. He felt dizzy and cold and knew it wasn't just from his injuries.

"You alright, young'n? You took quite an ass whoopin'" Coach said.

Ellis sighed and winced. "Not really," he admitted. "Everything hurts."

"Don't worry, sweetie, the doctor will take care of you," Rochelle said, she gave Ellis a small smile. Ellis nodded and tried to smile back.

Nick was examining the door.

"What you doing, Suit?" Coach asked in a warning tone.

Nick ran his fingers along the door frame. "There has to be a way to open this door," he muttered. "I have a feeling things are going to get worse."

"What are you talking about?" Rochelle asked.

Nick glared at her. "What I mean, sweetheart, is I have a feeling we're not going to like the results our blood tests will show and neither will CEDA, so we need to get out of here."

"You don't know that, Nick" Rochelle said.

Nick opened his mouth to argue when Coach interrupted.

"Let's just wait and see what them tests say first before we do anything stupid, alright?"

Nick sighed and sat in the corner.

The four sat in silence for what felt like hours when finally the door opened. The survivors became alert when they saw Dr. Sanchez walk in. He had four red bands in his hand.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Here's Chapter 3, sorry if it's a little shorter than the others, The next few chapters will be longer I promise

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><p>A thick silence hung over the painfully clean cafeteria.<p>

Rochelle looked down at her food and picked at it. The band on her arm seemed to grow tighter, cutting off circulation.

Coach sat across from her, his tray licked clean. He sighed.

Nick examined the mysterious meat-like substance on the end of his fork. "It's like high school all over again," he muttered before eating the chunk on his fork. It was cold and chewy. He swallowed with disgust.

Rochelle glanced over her shoulder to the heavy steel door. She bit her lip nervously. "They're taking an awfully long time," she muttered.

"Well, he was pretty banged up," Nick said and took another bite of his food.

"Ya need to eat," Coach motioned towards Rochelle's untouched food.

Rochelle sighed and looked down at the foam tray. She stabbed a carrot with her fork and slowly lifted the fork to her mouth.

The door behind her opened with a beep. The three at the table jumped in surprise. Rochelle coughed, nearly choking on the carrot.

Two men in hazmat suits walked in, dragging a dazed Ellis. They set him at the table.

Ellis slumped forward and hit his head on the metal table. He didn't seem to notice.

Rochelle gently shook him but Ellis didn't respond.

"What did you do to him?" Nick slammed his hands on the table and stood up, furious.

One of the men raised his hands, motioning for Nick to calm down. "It's the medication we gave him," the man said. "It should wear off in a few hours."

"Medication for what?" Coach asked.

The other man spoke up. His voice held more confidence than his companion. "He has several broken ribs and bruising, internal and external. The medication is simply pain relief and to help with swelling."

Ellis' eyes were glassy and he seemed to be staring into nothing. Rochelle waved her hand in front of his face but the kid didn't respond.

"Why isn't he responding?" Rochelle looked up at the two men.

"Side effect, he should be fine within an hour." the second man said.

"And if he's not?" Nick growled.

The two men exchanged quick glances before the second one cleared his throat. "Hurry and finish eating, someone will come assign you to your rooms shortly." They turned and hurried out of the room.

Nick glared at the door and sat back down. He grabbed up his fork but instead of continuing to eat, he slid it into the waistband of his pants.

"What are you doing?" Rochelle asked.

Nick put a finger to his lips and leaned over the table. "Trick I learned in prison." he said quietly.

The door beeped and opened again. This time, the gruff voiced soldier from earlier walked in with four others.

"On your feet!" The gruff man barked.

Coach, Rochelle and Nick got to their feet and looked at the five barrels aimed in their direction.

"Him too," the soldier motioned to Ellis who was still staring into nothing.

Nick grabbed the younger man and tried to hold him up. He turned to the kid and growled in his ear. "You're really heavy, you know that?"

Ellis just replied with a blink and a small groan.

The man in charge held a clipboard and looked back to the four still standing by the tables. A smile like that of poisoned honey spread across his face. "Red bands, huh?" he let out a sadistic laugh. "Follow me."

The survivors followed the man out the door, Nick dragging Ellis. The soldiers exited behind them, guns at the ready.

"Excuse me," Rochelle said. "Can you please tell us what's going on."

The soldier waved his card in front of one of the heavy doors. There was a small beep and the door opened.

He looked at the clipboard in his hand. "Coach." he said and pointed into the room. The room was small with a single bed. The walls were white brick and there was only one tiny window on the far wall. The bedding was the sickly green of the hallway walls. There was a door across from the bed.

When Coach didn't move, one of the soldiers behind him nudged him with the barrel of his gun.

"Alright, I'm going." Coach stepped into the room and sat on the bed.

"Breakfast is at 5 am, if you're not awake, you don't get fed." The gruff voiced man said before slamming the door shut.

"Sir," Rochelle tried again.

The soldier just motioned for everyone to follow him as he started down the hall.

Nick, despite the crushing dead weight of Ellis, stood as tall as he could and glared at the man's back. "Hey, I believe she was talking to you!" he shouted.

The man turned around. "Excuse me?" he asked, poison in his voice.

Nick held his ground. "She was talking to you." He motioned toward Rochelle.

The man turned to Rochelle. "Yes?"

Rochelle looked the man in the eyes. "I want answers." she declared.

"Like?"

"Where are we?" Rochelle asked.

The man raised his eyebrows and looked down at the woman. "A military base just South of Los Angeles, or what's left of it." he replied.

"Who are you?" Nick asked.

The man glared at him. "General Miller, any more questions?" he asked, clearly annoyed.

"What about our families? When will we get to see them? Or at least know that they are still alive?" Rochelle asked.

Miller swiped his card and opened the door to his left. He motioned for Nick to go inside.

"Tomorrow possibly." he said.

The room was similar to the one Coach was in, the only difference was the extra bed. Nick dragged Ellis into the room and set him down on one of the beds. Ellis curled into a ball and closed his eyes. Nick put his hand over the fork still in his waistband and looked over at Rochelle. They locked eyes. Nick gave a quick nod before the door shut.

Rochelle let the soldiers lead her down the hall and around the corner. They stopped at a door that looked like the rest. She sighed and looked down. Nick was planning something, she knew it. He was going to get them out of here.

The door opened with a beep. The soldier motioned for her to step inside.

She stepped into the room and watched the soldiers slam the door in her face. She sighed and blinked, tears pooling in her eyes. Ever since the hotel, she's never been apart from the three men she'd been traveling with. Now, with their absence, she felt alone, empty and scared.

Something cold and metallic was pressed against her throat and someone behind her breathed in her ear.

"If you value your life, you'll stay still."


	4. Chapter 4

Rochelle closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing. Sweat beaded on her forehead and collected until it started to run into her eyes. The metal object against her throat sent a chill throughout her body and the tiny hairs on the back of her neck were up at attention.  
>The room was dark and little moonlight filtered through the tiny window.<br>The person behind Rochelle spoke again. "Who are you?" By the voice, it sounded female.  
>Rochelle swallowed. "Rochelle, my name's Rochelle," she choked out.<br>"Why are you here?"  
>Rochelle tried to control the shaking in her voice as she spoke. "We were picked up by a helicopter off the bridge in New Orleans."<br>"New Orleans?" the voice asked.  
>"That's right," Rochelle closed her eyes again and tried to stop her body from trembling.<br>She sensed the figure move behind her. The person remained silent for a moment, as if lost in thought. "You didn't happen to stop at a bridge in Rayford along the way, did you?"  
>"Um..." Rochelle searched her memory, trying to remember everywhere she had been the past month or so. "Possibly, we were all over the place."<br>"Did you arrive in a blue stock car? Three men with you, one an asshole in a white suit?" the voice asked.  
>"How did you know that?" Rochelle asked.<p>

The metallic object was removed from her throat and the figure stepped away from her. Rochelle allowed herself to breathe again.

The single fluorescent light flashed to life, blinding the woman.

Once her eyes were able to focus, she turned and looked at her attacker.

"Zoey?"

The younger female glared at her. "Who else?"

"What are you doing here?" Rochelle asked in shock.

The glare from the college girl grew more fierce. "Do you really wanna know?" she challenged. She lifted her hand and pointed the metallic object at Rochelle. It was a switchblade. "You four!"

"What?" Rochelle looked up from the blade to Zoey's face.

"Bill died to save us, so we could escape from the zombies and the military. Then you four show up and fuck it up! Because of you, Bill died in vain!" Zoey yelled.

Rochelle backed against the wall. "What did we do?" she cried.

Zoey took a step closer to Rochelle. "You showed up, that's what you did. Shortly after you left, a helicopter started to circle around. When it landed, we were taken into custody and brought here. When we asked how they found us, they said four little birdies picked up from Whispering Oaks told them where to find us."

Rochelle closed her eyes and sighed. As the team had left Rayford, they had spotted multiple tanks in the area and the group at the bridge had been making a decent bit of noise, drawing the tanks in their direction. Once the helicopter picked them up from the concert, Ellis had told the pilot of the three on the bridge and said they may be in trouble. The pilot then contacted CEDA and told them where to find them.

"I'm sorry, we didn't know," Rochelle said.

Zoey continued to glare at her. "We killed all five tanks." she said. "Me and Francis restarted the generator and raised the bridge back up. The tanks came running and we managed to kill them all before anyone could get hurt. We can take care of ourselves, we didn't need you to send us help." Zoey sat down on one of the beds.

Rochelle noticed the red band around her arm and swallowed.

"Do you know what they do to carriers around here?" Zoey asked, her eyes burning.

The former TV producer shook her head and slowly sat on the other bed.

Zoey started to twirl the knife in her hand. "They start doing all these tests, experiments. Eventually the carriers stop coming back to their rooms, the most injured usually go first."

Rochelle's mind instantly went to Ellis. How he had just stared at nothing, his blue eyes glassy and focusing on nothing. "What kind of tests?" she asked.

Zoey looked up at her. "Usually testing 'cures' or 'vaccines', sometimes even new 'pain medications'," the younger woman said.

"Pain medications?" Rochelle choked out.

Zoey nodded and laid on her back. "I've seen them used on new carriers. Some kill you, others put you in a coma. The most common make you lifeless, all you do is stare into nothing." she said.

Rochelle felt dizzy and had to lay down.

Zoey looked over at her. "Why? Someone in your group hurt?" she asked, no concern or sympathy in her voice.

The older woman nodded and studied the cracks in the ceiling. "Ellis was badly injured when we first arrived. Once they brought him back from the doctor, he couldn't walk and he would just stare at nothing and when you tried to talk to him or anything, he wouldn't respond." She felt a few tears burn her eyes.

Zoey sighed. "He'll be dead in a week." She rolled over as the light clicked off, leaving Rochelle in darkness.

He sat straight up in bed, screaming. The man on the bed across from his, instantly jumped up in a groggy daze.

"Where is she? I'll shoot her!" The older man cried.

Ellis stopped screaming and looked around. He was in a tiny room with only two beds and a tiny window. Nick stood beside him, he had finally realized what was going on.

"Dammit Ellis!" he grumbled.

"Where are we?" Ellis asked Nick. He tried to remember how he got where he was but all he could remember was pain and a large needle. He looked up at the older man.

"Our jail cell, Overalls," was Nick's reply.

"Huh?"

Nick sat back on his bed. He grabbed his pillow and blanket from the floor. He fluffed the flat pillow and pulled the blanket back over him. "You don't remember anything do you?"

Ellis shook his head. A dull throbbing started in his rib cage.

Nick ran a hand through his dark hair. "They drugged you, Ellis. Then they brought us here, we each are in separate rooms."

Ellis let this process for a moment.

"Oh, and one more thing," Nick said.

Ellis looked at him.

"You're heavy as fuck to carry," Nick pulled his blanket up to his chin.

The younger of the two got to his feet and almost fell. He gripped the wall for support as he inched his way to the heavy door. He grabbed the handle and tried to open the door.

Nick looked over at him. "It's locked, smart one."

Nick's words barely registered. The dark room began to spin. Ellis broke out into a cold sweat and wrapped his arms around his chest as he collapsed to the floor. He couldn't hear Nick calling his name over the loud ringing in his ears. Every breath hurt.

Strong hands grabbed him under the arms and pulled him up from the cold floor.

"Stand up, kid" Nick grunted. The conman dropped the young man on his bed. "Now stay there, I can't keep carrying you."

Ellis watched as Nick cracked his spine multiple times before sitting on his own bed.

"What's wrong with me?" Ellis asked, scared.

Nick yawned. "Probably the drugs they gave you."

Ellis sighed and winced from the pain it caused. He closed his eyes and waited for it to pass.

"You alright, Ellis?" Nick asked.

Ellis opened his eyes, slightly shocked by Nick's question. "I guess so," he answered.

Nick nodded and looked up at the clock above Ellis' bed. He yawned and crawled under the thin green blanket on his bed. "Best get some sleep, breakfast is in two hours."

Ellis curled up under his blanket and stared at the wall. Nick's breathing slowed and grew deeper as he drifted off to sleep. Ellis lifted his eyes to the window and stared at the moon. He didn't sleep.

5 came sooner than wanted. The door opened with a beep and men in uniform marched in, guns aimed at the two survivors.

Nick opened his eyes and blinked against the harsh light as the above light was turned on.

"Breakfast," one of the soldiers said and pulled Nick out of bed roughly. He then turned and pulled Ellis out of his bed.

They were both shoved out the door into the brightly lit hall.

Nick was still blinking the sleep from his eyes as he and Ellis were marched down the hallway.

"Is this gonna be a regular thing?" Nick asked nodding to the guns, yawning.

His reply was a quick jab to the ribs from the soldier to his left.

Ellis walked beside him, head down, feet dragging.

Nick examined every detail of the hall, how many doors, the posters, every turn they made. He mentally mapped it for future reference. He studied Coach's door as they let the older man out and continued down the hall to the cafeteria.

"Morning, Coach," Nick said.

Coach just let out a small grunt, not fully awake.

They reached the cafeteria and were shoved inside, the door slammed shut behind them.

"Zoey?" Ellis cried.

Rochelle sat at the table with three other people. One being Zoey, the other two were Louis and Francis.

"You guys are here too?" Louis asked.

"What are you guys doing here?" Nick asked as he sat down next to Rochelle. Coach sat on her other side and Ellis sat across from them, next to Louis.

"I'll tell you..." Francis started, glaring at Nick.

"Francis, stop," Louis said.

"No, go ahead, Francis, they have a right to know," Zoey said. She gave flashed Nick a poisoned smile.

Francis glared from one of the other survivors to the next. He looked over Louis' head to glare at Ellis slightly longer than the rest.

"You guys got us thrown in here," he growled.

"How?" Nick challenged the biker.

Ellis slid down in his seat a bit, guilt rising.

"You guys told the military where to find us," Zoey said.

Coach raised an eyebrow. "When?"

"When you got rescued from a place called Whispering Oaks, your little hillbilly tipped them off and they locked us up!" Zoey shouted, pointing in Ellis' direction.

Ellis put his head down on the table. He felt dizzy, the guilt consuming him. He had only been trying to help.

Zoey stood up, fuming. She started yelling at Nick. Francis joined in, their yells echoing in the small space. Coach stood up and tried to break up the fight.

Ellis stared at the metal table in front of his eyes. He felt a warm hand on his shoulder. He lifted his head and saw Rochelle's face.

"Ignore her," was all Rochelle got to say before the door to the room opened and a few people in hazmat suits walked in.

Everyone in the cafeteria went silent.

"Sit," one of the women said, it was the same one from the showers.

The survivors sat at the table as food was placed before them.

Ellis sat up and noticed he didn't have a plate. He turned to the people who had passed out the food.

"Are you..." the woman looked at her clipboard. "Ellis?"

Ellis nodded.

"Please come with us," the woman said.

One of the men accompanying her, grabbed Ellis' arm. Ellis yelped in pain.

He met Rochelle's eyes then Nick's. His expression was that of a kid that knew he was in trouble but wasn't sure what for. He let the people lead him out of the room.

"Where are they taking him?" Rochelle asked once the door had shut.

Zoey took a bite of her sandwich and glared at the other woman out the corner of her eye. "Probably off for more 'pain medications'," she made air quotes with her fingers.

Coach looked at her. "What you talking 'bout?"

Zoey sighed deeply.

"She's talking about the test they do on the carriers," Louis said. He lowered his eyes and sighed. "Most don't come back..."

Coach bit his lip.

Nick swallowed his bite. "We're getting out of here."

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Not sure about this chapter, let me know what you think. Things will get more interesting I swear


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry if this took a little longer, got writers block but it's all good now :) Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Ellis lost track where he was being led after the first three flights of stairs. The hallways were windowless and artificially lit. He guessed he was underground quite a ways.<p>

He was led into a small room with a small cot along one wall. The woman behind him instructed he sit in a sharp tone. Ellis didn't hesitate.

The door was shut and he was left alone.

Loneliness started to creep in. Ellis hated being alone, always had. He pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them tightly. His stomach growled painfully. Ellis sighed and winced. They could have at least given him some food first.

He glanced at the walls to distract himself from the gnawing hunger and saw multiple charts with various viruses and bacterias on them.

One was of a very odd looking virus. A second look proved it to be the Green Flu. Most of the description of the virus had been scratched out with a Sharpie and rewritten beside it.

Before Ellis could read the scrawling on the chart, the door opened and Dr. Sanchez and the same woman he was always with walked in.

"Morning," the doctor said.

Ellis nodded at him. "Mornin'."

The doctor wrote something down on his clipboard. Ellis was sick of seeing clipboards.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the worst, how much pain are you in?" Sanchez asked.

Ellis shrugged, trying to mask his pain. The last thing he wanted was more of that strange drug he had received the previous night. "I dunno, 2 maybe," he lied.

The doctor raised an eyebrow and looked the young man over. "2?" he asked, suspicion in his voice.

Ellis nodded. "Yes, sir."

Before Ellis could react, Dr. Sanchez reached out and jabbed Ellis lightly in his ribs.

The mechanic cried out and flinched away.  
>"Just a 2, huh? Millie!" the doctor snapped his fingers and the woman beside him handed him a rather large needle filled with a greenish fluid.<br>Ellis eyed it nervously. "What's that?" he asked.  
>"Just an extra strength pain reliever, totally harmless." The doctor said.<br>Ellis narrowed his eyes. "You sure 'bout that?" he questioned. If there was one thing Ellis hated, it was being lied to.  
>The doctor sighed. "Yes, Ellis, now just shut up, your accent is quite annoying and I'm just trying to do my job, now if I could see your arm please."<br>Ellis stiffened, keeping his arms at his sides.  
>Sanchez pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Kid, we can do this the hard way or the easy way."<br>"I ain't a kid, I'm 23," Ellis snapped. He had always been looked down upon by his teammates as being the 'kid' or 'young'n'. He had grown used to it after a while but the tone the doctor used was almost mocking him.  
>There was a prick in his elbow. He jumped.<br>While the doctor had been distracting him, his assistant, Millie, had snuck up to him and injected him with whatever was in the needle.  
>"Hey!" Ellis pulled away but it was too late. He glared at the doctor in front of him. "What kinda doctor are you?"<br>Sanchez didn't reply, he just stood back with a hint of a smirk on his face.  
>The room began to blur. Ellis blinked multiple times but the room continued to grow progressively more blurry. The ceiling became the floor and the walls started to ripple like water.<br>Ellis felt lightheaded. _What's goin' on?_ Ellis tried to speak but words refused to form. He felt the cold floor beneath him.  
>"Doctor, he's having a reaction!" he heard Millie cry. She sounded so far away but so close at the same time.<br>Sanchez sighed. "How hard is it to make a vaccine?" his voice was muffled.  
><em>Vaccine? <em>The edges of Ellis' vision started to darken and turn black. His heartbeat pounding in his ears. The world was tilting. Ellis reached out and tried to grab something to keep from sliding into darkness. The darkness came anyway.

The clock on the wall ticked slowly. Nick drummed his fingers on the metal table and sighed. He glanced up at the clock again. It had been over eight hours since they had arrived at the cafeteria, seven since Ellis left and three hours since they had been served lunch.  
>Conversation amongst the survivors had been brief and awkward until the thought of speaking died all together.<br>Zoey sat in Francis' lap, her face buried in his neck as he rubbed her lower back. Louis sat next to them, stacking and knocking down and re-stacking the empty milk cartons and water bottles they had been given.  
>Coach had his head resting on his hand and was slowly nodding off. Rochelle sat next to Nick. She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. Nick tensed at first until Rochelle looked up at him, fear visible in her eyes. He relaxed and patted her shoulder gently.<p>

They had sat like that for hours.

The door beeped and opened. All the survivors at the table instantly became alert once more.

Miller walked in accompanied by a few men in camouflage and a busty blonde.

Nick tensed instinctively.

Miller walked up to the table with a smug grin on his face. "Afternoon, carriers."

"Where's Ellis?" Rochelle asked, the fear noticeable in her voice.

The man before her gave a small laugh. "That is none of your business, sweetheart."

Nick clenched his fists. He stood up and glared at the bigger man. "Tell us where he is," he growled.

Miller looked Nick up and down. "According to your records, your wanted in almost all 50 states."

"Really? Well I'm flattered, but that has nothing to do with this," Nick gritted his teeth.

One of the men with Miller handed him a clipboard and Miller looked it over.

"Grand theft auto, armed robbery, assault and battery, attempted murder, illegal gambling, hit and run, resisting arrest, driving while intoxicated, and the list goes on."

Nick dug his fingernails into his palms. "Don't change the subject, Miller!"

Miller ignored him. "How did you manage to escape federal prison?"

"The infection, that's how."

"Prison?" Nick heard Rochelle say softly to herself. He closed his eyes. He kept his past a secret for a reason.

Nick looked up at the man and narrowed his eyes. "Where's Ellis?" he hissed.

The blonde picked at her perfectly manicured nails. "Since when do you care about anyone besides yourself, Nicholas?"

Nick mentally flinched at her voice.

Miller turned and looked at the blonde. "You know this guy?" he asked.

The blonde looked up. "Of course I do, he's my husband."


	6. Chapter 6

Nick crossed his arms and glared at the woman before him. "Ex-husband." he said.

The blonde put her hands on her hips. "It wasn't finalized." she muttered.

The conman snorted. "I think the end of the world was enough to finalize it."

Clearly irritated, the blonde turned to Miller. She whispered something in his ear before he and the other soldiers walked out.

"Cheating again, Rachael?" Nick taunted.

The woman gritted her teeth. Her blue eyes flashed dangerously and she curled her slender hands into fists, her manicured nails digging into her palm.

Nick smiled at this. "So why are you here?"

Rachael unclenched and re-clenched her fists. "I was up North at the Immune base and I got a call saying that my husband was alive so they dragged me down here." she growled.

Getting under Rachael's skin had always been one of Nick's favorite hobbies before he was arrested. His eyes flickered to the yellow band around her arm and he silently cursed her.

Rachael untensed after a moment and smirked at Nick. "I couldn't help but laugh a little once I found out you were a carrier. Karma's a bitch, isn't it?" She batted her long, fake lashes at him.

Nick shrugged casually. "I've been through worse."

Rachael twitched slightly when her attempt to irritate her ex failed. Her eyes went to the survivors behind him. She snorted. "Pretty sore looking group, but hell, as long as they get you out alive, I guess you can't be picky. That's the only reason you stuck around to help them, isn't it? So they could bring your ass to safety," She smiled when she noticed Nick flinch. "That's all you're good at, stealing money and using people."

Nick said nothing.

The blonde flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Problem, Nicholas?"

Nick clenched his jaw but said nothing. He could feel the eyes of the other survivors burning on his back.

Rachael, seeing her business was done, turned to leave. She knocked lightly on the door and waited for Miller to let her out. The door beeped and she grabbed the handle. Before stepping out, she turned back to her ex.

"It's too bad for your little hilly billy friend, he was a cutie." With that, she slammed the door shut behind her.

Nick swallowed and turned to the others behind him. Rochelle looked up at him with wide eyes.

"What did she mean by that?"

Nick shook his head. "Nothing, she doesn't know shit."

The woman looked at the floor before she spoke again. "You killed someone?" Rohelle asked timidly. Nick blinked in shock and glanced at the woman before replacing his stone mask.

"No, it was self defense, and he didn't die." Nick corrected. "Besides, what do you think we've been doing the past few months?"

"Killing zombies..."

"Zombies were humans at one point." Nick replied coldly.

Rochelle swallowed. "That's different, Nick."

Nick gave a sharp laugh. "Not really."

Rochelle stepped away from the conman and stood closer to Coach and Francis. She had been traveling with Nick for a few months. She now realized how little she knew about him. She shivered. Nick was dangerous, and she had trusted Nick with her life multiple times. But he had never hurt her, nor shown any intention to hurt her. The reporter swallowed. He had only kept her alive so she could bring him to safety.

Rochelle suddenly felt cold, fear for the man in front of her invading her. She was thinking irrational, Nick wasn't that type of person. Or was he?

Nick sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. He met Rochelle's eyes and saw the fear within their depths.  
>Before he could say anything, the door opened and Miller walked back in with his fellow soldiers.<p>

"Playtime's over," Miller taunted as the survivors were led out of the room.

Nick gave Rochelle one last glance before he was shoved into his tiny room and had the door slammed in his face.

"No!" he pried at the door until his fingertips were raw but he couldn't get it to open.

Finally, he sat on his bed and put his head in his hands. Had they been out fighting zombies, nothing would have changed, even if he mentioned his dark past. But here, with all the stress and being stripped of their rights, it was starting to get to their heads and now Rochelle thought of him as a monster.

Not that he should care, she was just another survivor. But he did care, more than he would like to admit.

He sighed again. "Rachael you bitch!"

The ceiling tile had 42 cracks, make that 43.

Zoey rolled over in her bed and looked at the woman in the other bed. She had been staring at the ceiling, her mouth moving in silent words.

"Rochelle," Zoey tried again. The woman ignored her. Zoey sighed deeply. "Listen, I may not like you but I know what you're going though."

Rochelle turned her head to look at the younger woman. She raised one eyebrow.

Zoey cleared her throat before going on. "I didn't know a lot about Francis when I first met him and when I found out about his dark past, it scared me too. But that shit doesn't matter anymore."

Rochelle sighed and looked back up at the ceiling. "I don't care what Nick did or didn't do before the zombies."

"Obviously you do, I mean, the spark is pretty obvious." Zoey started to fiddle with a small tear in her bed sheet.

Rochelle snorted. "Yeah, ok." She started recounting the cracks as Zoey fell silent.

The clock on the wall ticked quietly. Rochelle counted the ticks backwards from 60 and then start over again. 6 min and 47 seconds went by before Zoey spoke again.

"What is bothering you then?"

Rochelle rolled onto her side and met Zoey's eyes. "We've been killing people. Ill, helpless people. What if they find a cure? That means we just killed innocent mothers, fathers, sons, daughters..." Rochelle took a breath. "I tried not to think of it that way. We did what we had to do to survive, but..." Rochelle blinked several times. "Ellis would wake up with night terrors, crying, saying we were killing innocent people... I would just calm him down and think nothing of it."

At the mention of the youngest survivor, tears formed in her eyes. she blinked and the tears splashed down her dark face.

Zoey just watched the reporter cry. She felt sorry for the woman in front of her. Words of comfort evaded her at the mention of the young Georgian. Hatred bubbled inside at the very mention of his name. The thought of him waking in terror, screaming, scared and delirious pleased her.

The lights in the room clicked off.

Rochelle sniffled a few times before crying herself to sleep.

Keeping the image of Ellis waking from night terrors in her mind, Zoey fell asleep with a smile on her face for the first time since Bill died.

He was awoken by the sound of a toilet repeatedly being flushed.

Nick sat up and blinked the sleep from his eyes. He turned toward the door next to Ellis' bed. The covers for the bed were strewn about the floor and light was visible under the door.

Nick climbed shakily to his feet, gripping Ellis' empty bed for support. He stumbled to the door and put his ear against the wood and listened.

Hacking and gagging came from the other side. Nick knocked lightly and the door swung open.

Bright light blinded Nick and he squinted, waiting for his eyes to adjust.

"Hello?" he called out.

A figure was slumped by the toilet.

"Ellis?" Nick cried. His eyes had adjusted to the sudden light change and the sight before him wished he was blind again.

The young man was on the floor, leaning against the toilet. He was pale and thin. Sweat beaded his forehead and bare chest. His eyes were bloodshot, pupils dilated. He coughed.

Nick swallowed.

The mechanic must have been brought back to the room after Nick fell asleep and had spent his time since then hacking and puking up half his guts.  
>Blood was dripping from the toilet and started to pool at the base. Red smears covered the walls where Ellis had put his hands to hold himself up.<p>

Nick ran to the younger man, his bare feet slipping on the still warm blood. He kneeled beside Ellis and grabbed his shoulders. He pulled his hands away when they were almost burnt by the heat of Ellis' skin.

"Ellis, what the hell did they do to you?" Nick asked, his heart pounding.

Ellis replied by going into a coughing fit. He put his hand over his mouth as he coughed. Blood oozed between his fingers.  
>Nick sat, watching.<p>

Once Ellis controlled his coughing enough to where he could speak, he looked up at Nick, pleading. "Nick, help me!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I know the characters are off, but hey, they're starting to go slowly insane being trapped like that, R&R please :)


	7. Chapter 7

Bright lights and talking, so much talking. Blurred figures ran back and forth.

Rough hands pulled him this way and that. Lay down, get up, lay down, don't move, sit up, lay down.

Needles prodded him but he barely felt them. Masked faces peered down at him from the bright lights.

Blood, so much blood. He coughed, he couldn't breath.

Weight was forced onto his damaged ribs. The pain was immense but nonexistent at the same time. He couldn't blink, couldn't move.

A bag of red fluid was attached to his arm. Panicky, muffled voices swirled in his head, making him feel dizzy.

"Stop..." he weakly choked out before going into another coughing fit. More blood, so much... so much blood...

He looked right up at the bright lights and knew nothing more.

They had fallen into a routine. Wake up at 5 am, eat breakfast at 6, sit in the cafeteria until 7 pm, be brought back to their rooms, lights out at 9, sleep until 5, repeat.

Nick sat at the end of the table, drawing on the table with an ink pen he had stolen from one of the hazmat people.

Francis was the closest one to him. He sat slightly turned from the conman. His tattooed arm was wrapped around Zoey's waist. Zoey kept glaring at Nick before going about her hushed conversation with the biker.

Louis sat on her other side, ripping apart a leftover foam tray from breakfast. Coach and Rochelle sat as far from Nick as possible. Rochelle hadn't so much as looked at Nick since Miller and Rachael had paid them a visit. Coach stuck close to her, trying to comfort her.

Nick looked down at his drawing. It was of four stick figures with guns fighting a giant zombie monster. Each stick figure survivor had their own trait. The tall one had a belly and a cheeseburger in one hand. The smallest had hair tied behind her head and hoop earrings. The two middle ones were in the front. One had a hat and was about to get mauled by the Tank.

The conman sighed and set the pen down.

After Ellis had begged him for help, Nick ran to the door and began to pound on it with both fists until his knuckles bled and bruised.

Men in hazmat suits rushed in and grabbed Ellis. The young man had slipped into unconsciousness by that time. He was placed onto a stretcher and rushed down the hall. A few of the hazmat men stayed to quickly clean the blood up and left without an explanation.

Nick yelled at them, demanding answers. He swung out and hit one man in the jaw which resulted in a few well placed punches in return and a door slammed in his face.

That was three nights ago. Ellis was yet to return to the room or the cafeteria.

The door opened with a beep and the survivors stood up, no questions were asked. They marched out silently.

The usual rounds were made. Nick and the two woman were the last stops. Nick turned to Rochelle and gave her a half smile. The woman looked up at him with fearful eyes and flinched away from him. Zoey glared at him, her eyes burning with hatred.

Nick clenched his fists and swallowed the urge to hit her. She was the only one that had spoken these past few days. All she did was bitch and tear down Ellis. Nick would snap after a while and tell her to shut her mouth just to have Francis jump to her defense. Coach would end it before things got violent.

Nick waited for the soldiers to turn away to unlock his room before he spit at the college girl. It hit her on the cheek and she cried out.

"You shithead!" she growled. "I hope you and your redneck buddy rot in hell!"

Nick stepped inside his room to refrain from hitting her. "See you there, cupcake!"

The door was slammed in his face as always. He took a few deep breaths to calm down before he turned to his bed.

He froze.

Ellis sat on one of the beds, the blankets wrapped around him. He looked up at Nick.

"Overalls?" Nick looked the kid over. "You're still alive."

Ellis nodded and wrapped the blankets tighter around him.

Nick walked over and sat on his own bed looking the young man over. He was still paler than usual and trembled slightly.

Neither said anything for a while. Ellis hugged his knees to his chest and buried his face in his knees and gave a few shaky sighs.

"What the hell did they do to you?" Nick asked, breaking the silence.

"Huh?" Ellis looked up at the older man.

"What did they do to you?" Nick repeated to the mechanic.

Ellis looked down. "I... I don't really remember." He looked back up at Nick. "I don't really remember much after gettin' these." He tugged lightly at his red armband.

Nick narrowed his eyes. The kid was an awful liar. His nervous shifting and eyes were a dead giveaway. "Bull shit! You remember everything." he said coldly.

The young man swallowed. "I ain't lyin', Nick," he said.

The older man crossed his arms. "You're a terrible lair, Ellis."

Ellis started to squirm under Nick's piercing glare. "I... I..." he stammered.

Nick leaned and got in the kid's face. "Just the other night you were choking on your own blood. They could kill you!"

Ellis bit his lip and avoided the green eyes burning holes into him. "I... I can't tell you..." the kid swallowed.

Nick sat up straight. "Why not?"

"I just can't..."

"Dammit, Ellis!" Nick got to his feet and ran a hand through his hair. "Why the hell not?"

"They'll kill you if I tell! They'll kill you an' Coach an' Ro..." Ellis' voice died.

Nick sat back on his bed and sighed. "Why doesn't that surprise me," he muttered. He stared at the floor for a few seconds and then looked back up at Ellis.

The poor kid sat curled in a ball, trembling. His eyes were full of fear of being yelled at more. Nick sighed again. The last thing he needed was for Ellis to fear him as well.

"You alright, kid?"

Seeing that the yelling was over with, he relaxed a bit. "I guess so."

Nick nodded. He noticed how thin the kid was. His collar bone jutted out painfully under the black shirts they were given.

"Sorry, El," Nick muttered, swallowing his pride.

Ellis coughed violently a few times before nodding. "It's alright, bro." He coughed again.

Nick looked away and Ellis glanced out the tiny window. The sky was covered with thick dark clouds. It was the first time Ellis had gotten a glimpse at the outside in days and the sun wasn't even out.

The young man shuddered. The last few days had been dreadful.

On his deathbed, coughing up his own blood, the doctors swarmed him. Poking him, prodding him.

Sanchez stood and looked over Ellis, half his face covered with a mask.

"Can you hear me?" he asked.

Ellis nodded and coughed.

Millie suddenly appeared by Sanchez's side. She held a needle in her hand.

"He's been reacting to everything else. Is it safe to give him anymore?" she asked timidly.

Sanchez grabbed the needle from Millie. "He'll be fine, he's only a carrier so if he's not it's no great loss. There's always the other six."

Despite his blood loss and lack of energy, Ellis squirmed. "What is that?" he asked, scared.

The doctor rolled his eyes and grabbed the young man's arm. "This is the vaccine we are trying to perfect. It contains all the different strains of the virus," the doctor said.

Ellis squirmed again, trying to get away.

Millie looked up at the doctor. "Are you sure you should be telling him that?" she asked.

The doctor shrugged and yanked on Ellis' arm, making him yelp. "He's not going to tell anyone, right?" He turned to the Southener.

Ellis struggled weakly to get away. "I ain't a lab rat!" he cried, keeping both eyes on the needle. Adrenaline from anger and fear rushed him. "Let me go!" He coughed violently.

Sanchez yanked on Ellis' arm again."You're only making this worse on yourself."

Ellis glared at the middle aged man. "When my friends find out..."

The doctor cut him off. "If you breathe one word to them, we will kill them without hesitation. Don't believe me? Then go ahead and tell them!"

Ellis froze. Words evaded him. The adrenaline faded and he slumped weakly to the bed. He felt the poke of the needle but did nothing to fight back...

A commotion brought Ellis back to reality. He looked over at Nick. Nick was under his bed, only his feet sticking out.

"What ya doin'?" Ellis asked the conman.

Nick jumped and there was a thud as his head hit the bottom of the bed. He crawled out, rubbing his forehead. He looked at the younger man.

"Hiding stuff," Nick replied quietly.

Ellis blinked. "What stuff?"

Nick ducked back under the bed and took inventory of the various items he had snatched and taped under the bed, out of sight.

"Forks, pens, a plastic knife, and a roll of tape."

"Why?" Ellis asked.

Nick sat up and looked at Ellis. "I have a plan to bust us out of here, but I need your help."

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><p><strong>AN:** Here's the next chapter, Chapter 8 up soon, hopefully. This chapter may change, however, I don't really know if I like it so let me know. More Ellis POV in the next chapter I promise.

And to reply to _tvizz,_ this isn't really a NickxRochelle, it is kinda mentioned and hinted at but that's about it.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Here's Chapter 8, finally. Sorry if it's a little slow but things will start rolling from here I promise. I was really tired when I wrote this so if there are mistakes I apologize. This chapter may change in the future. Enjoy

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><p>"Ellis! You're okay!" Arms were thrown around his neck as Rochelle hugged him. Ellis gently hugged her back.<p>

Coach walked up and put a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Boy, we thought we lost ya there for a while," the big man said.

Rochelle released him and looked the mechanic. "What happened to you?" she asked, her voice full with motherly worry.

Ellis swallowed and glanced over his shoulder at Nick. Nick gave a small nod. Ellis returned the nod and went about his rehearsed story.

"I got a real bad infection cuz of that Tank. It wasn't the Green Flu or nuthin', just a normal infection. Like the one ya get if ya don't clean a cut. Like the one time mah buddy Keith..." he smiled slightly when Rochelle hugged him to shut him up.

"I'm just glad you're okay, sweetie," she said softly.

Ellis looked over at Nick. He hated lying to Rochelle but it was the only way for their plan to work and to keep the others calm. Nick gave him a nod before walking and sitting at the table.

The door beeped and the usual breakfast was served. Cold eggs, soggy toast and warm milk.

Ellis began to salivate at the sight of the food. He hadn't eaten since they had arrived from the bridge. As soon as a tray was placed in front of him, he began to shove the food in his mouth. Food never tasted so good.

Nick elbowed him in the side. "Slow down or they'll get suspicious," he muttered quietly.

Ellis stopped and swallowed the bite in his mouth and forced himself to eat slowly. His stomach tore at him, screaming, demanding more food, NOW! He ate slowly and was the last one to finish.

There was silence in the cafeteria.

Louis tugged at his shirt and adjusted in his seat. "I wish we could wear our own clothes," he muttered, breaking the silence.

Francis nodded. He tugged lightly at the stray strings from where his sleeve should have been. He had ripped them off the previous night.

Nick mumbled something about his suit but Ellis couldn't make out what he said.

Ellis' hand went to his hair. Without his hat, his hair was starting to fall into his face. Little things like a haircut or even wearing their own clothes were things that were easily taken for granted until those rights were taken away. Ellis suddenly hated the silvery blue jogging pants and black t-shirt he was wearing.

Zoey stood up and stretched, her back and shoulders cracking. "Why do we just sit at this damn table all day?" she asked. Without waiting for a reply, she walked over to the back corner of the room and started to stretch out her legs and back.

The others took her lead and started to disperse around the room. There was nothing to do but it felt good to walk around.

Rochelle stood leaning against the wall. She sensed the presence behind her and didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"What?" she asked, her back still to the conman.

Nick said nothing.

Rochelle turned around and was greeted by green eyes staring her down. The woman swallowed but didn't move.

"Why are you avoiding me?" Nick asked.

"Why do you care?" Rochelle challenged. "I mean, after all, you only used us to save your own ass."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Do you really believe that?"

Rochelle squared her jaw. "Then why _did_ you stick around after we got out of that hotel?"

When Nick said nothing, Rochelle raised an eyebrow.

"Exactly." She turned to walk away.

Nick clenched his fists. "Fuck you, Rachael," he muttered quietly to himself. Apparently not quite enough.

"Excuse me?" Rochelle yelled and spun to face the man.

"I said Rachael, not Rochelle!"

Rochelle glared at him. "Sure you did," she turned and walked over to where Coach and Louis were standing, having a quiet conversation.

Anger surged through Nick and he swung out and hit the brick wall. Blood ran down his hand and red smears covered the pukey green bricks. Nick snorted. The wall looked better that way.

Ellis heard the yelling behind him but ignored it. He had missed a lot the few days he had been gone. He continued to stare out the window. Little sunlight trickled in and warmed his face.

He wrapped an arm around his still healing chest. His ribs started to throb in rhythm with his head.

He put his sweaty forehead against the cool glass and closed his eyes.

The past few months replayed over and over in his head. He could almost feel the weight of his beloved shotgun in his hand. He missed the thrill of running, adrenaline pumping, no knowledge if he'd live to see the sun rise the following morning. The constant gunfire and blood splatter. Disturbing the witch and teaming up to take down a tank. He even missed the constant injuries he obtained daily, hourly.

All of that seemed so much better, so much _safer_ than being here, being treated like the unwanted animals in the pound.

Ellis sighed softly, not opening his eyes.

Pain exploded in his damaged ribs. There was a loud _crack_ as his head hit the cold wall before his shoulders did. Dazed, he looked around, trying to process what had just happened.

He was being pinned against a wall. Angry eyes piercing him.

"Zoey?" Ellis choked out between gasps of pain.

The college girl glared at him. "Shut up!" she growled quietly.

Ellis scanned the room and saw that the others were in the far corner, occupied with something. Zoey read his thoughts.

"If you shout, I'll kill you," she said.

Something sharp brushed against the mechanic's side. He tried to shrink away but Zoey slammed him against the wall again. He cried out.

"What do ya want?" Ellis whimpered.

The woman in front of him glared at him. Her eyes were glassy and looked odd. On the surface was pain and anger. Underneath, was pure hatred. Nothing but hatred.

Ellis swallowed. Zoey was going insane.

The sharp object was pressed further into his side.

"I should kill you for what you did!" she said. Her voice was off, she didn't sound like she usually did.

"I...I..." Ellis stammered. "I'm sorry, I..."

Zoey threw back her head and laughed, it was hysterical laughter. "You really think that will help?"

Ellis was at a loss of words. He could feel the object jabbing him uncomfortably in the side, just below the ribs. His heart beat against his broken ribs.

Zoey leaned in, her face almost touching Ellis'. "I swear to God, if CEDA doesn't kill you, I will!" On that note, the object was pulled away from his side and Zoey turned and walked away.

Ellis allowed himself to breathe again. Shaking, he slid to the floor.

This place was messing with their heads, it was only a matter of time before it consumed all the survivors.

He glanced over at Zoey. Francis had his arms around her as she cried into his chest. The biker's cold eyes bore into the young man and Ellis had to look away.

Hugging his knees to his still throbbing chest, Ellis stared at the wall before him, shaking.

He never feared for his life more than he did at that moment, not even when he was out with the infected.

"Ellis? You alright, man?" came a voice to his right. It sounded like Louis but Ellis wasn't sure. He ignored it all the same.

He stared at the wall before him. The pukey green made him suddenly sick. He swallowed the rising bile in his throat, wanting to keep what precious amount of food he had eaten in his stomach. The green of the wall seemed to grow and intensify. All he could see was green. More and more green.

Shaking, so much shaking. Someone was yelling his name.

"Dammit, Ellis!"

The voice was harsh and familiar.

"Ellis!"

The southener blinked. He was lying on the floor, Nick, Coach, Louis and Rochelle stood over him. Nick released his shoulder.

"What the hell?" The conman asked.

"Huh?" Ellis tried to sit up but Coach gently pushed him back down.

"Calm down there, young'n," he said.

Confused, Ellis relaxed and looked from one face to the other.

"We thought you were having a seizure or something," Louis said. "You were shaking and weren't responding."

Ellis groaned and ran both hands through his hair. The absence of his hat sent a slight pain down his spine. He closed his eyes. Homesickness started to settle in.

Before any of the others had a chance to speak, the door beeped and they all stood up. Ellis remained on the floor.

Louis looked up at the clock. "Time to leave already?"

"Time sure does fly when you're having fun." Nick said in a sarcastic tone. Rochelle shot him a quick glare before walking over to the door.

Coach looked down at the young southener on the floor. "You gonna be alright, boy?" he asked.

Ellis let Louis help him up. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said.

"Hey! You in the back! Move it!" One of the soldiers yelled.

"Yeah, yeah we're coming," Coach grumbled before walking toward the door, Louis right behind him.

Ellis groaned and followed the two older men, walking slow and avoiding any glances at the sickly green walls. He focused on keeping his feet beneath him and stared at the floor.

Nick followed Ellis and watched his off-balanced limping. He shook his head and sighed.

They were marched out of the cafeteria and to their rooms. Nick couldn't help but smile to himself at his pick-pocketing skills as the door was closed behind him.

Ellis sat on his bed and looked up at Nick. "Why you smilin' like that?" he asked.

Nick quickly removed his smile and replaced it with his stone mask. "Nothing, now what was that about back there?" he asked.

Ellis opened his mouth but quickly shut it and looked away. The young man swallowed. "Zoey wants to kill me..."

The elder of the two wasn't phased by the news. Zoey had made numerous threats to kill him and Ellis. She never followed through even when she had the chance. Nick sat on his own bed and leaned against the cold brick wall.

"She won't do it," Nick muttered.

Ellis looked at him. "How did ya know? She's gone insane, Nick," he asked.

Nick shrugged. "We all are, so what?"

The Georgian looked at him, confused.

The conman leaned forward. "We're getting the hell out of here," he said, a smile growing on his face. He held up his hand to show Ellis. In between his middle finger and index finger was one of the soldier's keycards.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Zoey's going insane! And Nick finally has a way to escape! Yay!


	9. Chapter 9

** A/N:** Here's Chapter 9, sorry if it took a little longer, been busy with school work, Enjoy :)

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><p>The room was painfully quiet as the lights went out in the room, leaving the two men in darkness.<p>

Nick glanced over at the clock on the wall above Ellis' bed. The numbers gave off a soft red glow, the only light source in the room. 9:04. The conman sighed softly and looked up at the dark ceiling.

Ellis' breathing was ragged and began to slow as he drifted off for a nap. He rolled over and mumbled something in his light slumber.

Only two minutes went by before Nick glanced at the clock again. He groaned, this was going to be a long night. He knew he should try to get a nap in but the anticipation of what they were going to do was keeping him awake.

9:10

Nick closed his eyes and tried to force sleep to come but his eyes refused to stay shut for longer than a minute or two.

9:17

The clock mocked him and he hated it. Time was a stupid thing. There was always not enough time when you needed it and too much when you didn't. It went fast when it should have gone slow and slow when it should have gone fast. And for Nick, it was going much too slow.

He rolled over, his back to the taunting numbers. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. Long inhale through the nose, slow exhale out the mouth. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.

He must have dozed off at some point for he was awoken by a loud thud.

The conman sat up and looked around, blinking away the sleep from his eyes.

Ellis had thrown himself to the floor and continued to toss and turn. He whimpered and muttered something in his sleep. He sat upright, his eyes scanning the room in a terrified manner.

Knowing what came next, Nick jumped off his bed and slapped a hand over the younger man's mouth. "Ellis, wake up!" he grumbled.

Glazed, blue eyes looked Nick's face over. Ellis' brow knitted in confusion. He didn't recognize the man beside him.

Nick clenched his teeth and spoke quietly. "It's Nick, you're having another night terror, now wake up!" He shook the mechanic's shoulders.

Ellis blinked a few times. "Nick, stop it, yer givin' me a headache," he muttered. He rubbed his temples as Nick stopped shaking him. He groaned and put his head on his knees.

Nick looked up at the clock. 2:47. The older man stood up and held his hand out for Ellis. "Time to go," he said.

Ellis looked up at him, blinking, fatigue visible in his eyes. "Already?" He grabbed Nick's hand and was yanked to his feet. The kid groaned and rubbed his temples again.

"Ah musta hit mah 'ead or sumthin' when Ah fell." His accent was thicker when he was tired.

"You'll be fine, you've had worse night terrors than that, trust me," Nick crawled under his bed and grabbed the key card he had stolen.

Ellis grunted in a reply.

Nick stood up, the key card clamped tightly in one hand, a knife in the other. He slid the knife into the waistband of his pants.

"What's that for?" Ellis asked through a yawn.

"In case we run into any trouble, stole it from Zoey's pocket when she wasn't looking." was Nick's reply as he walked over to the door and held the key card up. "You ready?"

Ellis nodded. He twisted his hands uneasily. The sudden want for a weapon made Ellis' stomach clench. Something, even if it was something small, just something.

There was a painfully loud beep and the door popped open.

Nick grabbed the door and took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of freedom for the first time in a long time. He opened the door just enough for him to get a view of the hallway ahead of them. The path was clear. Nick turned back to Ellis and gave a small nod before slipping out the door.

Ellis took a deep breath before ducking out as well. He slowly shut the door behind him. The door clicked, locking in place. The small sound echoed up and down the empty hall. Both men froze, listening.

"I don't hear anythin'" Ellis whispered.

Nick nodded and studied the walls. He turned and pointed behind them. "Cafeteria's this way."

They walked slowly, carefully, trying to not make a sound. Nick led them to the cafeteria pointing at certain doors along the way and mouthing names. He pointed to the door closest to the cafeteria and mouthed "Coach".

Ellis studied the door and tried to remember it for future reference. His stomach clenched. Coach was locked in there, probably sleeping. Ellis had the sudden urge to let him out, but he knew it would put all of Nick's planning in jeopardy.

Nick suddenly turned to him. "Where do they take you?" he whispered.

"Why?"

"Because, we're gonna need health supplies and that's where we'll find them." Nick replied.

Ellis bit his lip and pointed down the hall. "There's some stairs just around the corner."

Nick nodded and started that way. He peeked around the corner. Once the coast was clear, he waved over his shoulder at the kid.

The door to the stairs beeped and they froze instinctively. The hallway was silent, the only sound was the thud of their racing hearts.

The stairway was dimly lit and icy cold. Once Nick shut the door he turned to Ellis.

"What all is down there?" he whispered.

"Um..." Ellis scratched the side of is head. "All I can remember is alotta stairs and rooms." he gave Nick an apologetic look.

The conman sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. He ran over his mental list again. Guns, food, water, health, clothes, a way out. Guns, food, water, health, clothes, a way out. Food and water was easy enough to find and access. The other few things, not so much.

Ellis wandered down the stairs a ways and tried to peek into the tiny window on one of the doors. The room was dark. He tried to open the door but it was locked.

A soft sound echoed up the staircase. It sounded like rubber scuffing concrete. Footsteps!

Ellis turned to warn Nick but the older man was already bolting down the stairs. He swiped the key card, grabbed Ellis' arm and pulled them both into the room.

"What if..." A hand was slapped over Ellis' mouth before he could finish his thought. Nick watched out the tiny window.

Sanchez and Millie came up the stairs, they were talking in hushed voices and Nick couldn't make out what they were saying. They walked past the room where the two survivors were hiding and continued up the stairs. Once they were out of sight, Nick opened the door.

"That was Sanchez and his assistant, we must be going the right way," he said.

Ellis nodded and they continued down the stairs.

They finally made it to the bottom and stood at the end of a long hallway.

"Anything coming back to you?" Nick asked.

Ellis shook his head. "I don't think so..." he paused and counted the doors before moving forward. He stopped at the fifth door on the right. "Open this one."

Nick opened the door and Ellis stepped inside. He bit his lip and shook his head. He sighed.

"This is it," Ellis muttered.

Nick clicked on the light and blinked as he was momentarily blinded. The room was a large supply closet. All the walls were covered with shelves that reached the ceiling. Various medical supplies packed the shelves.

Ellis walked forward and grabbed a glass jar full of a thick green liquid.

"Been a long time since I seen one o' these," Ellis rolled the bile jar around in his hand. He set it back and turned to Nick.

Nick's eyes scanned quickly. His lips moved quickly but no sound came out. When he was done, he turned back to the young Southener.

"Can you remember where this room is at?" he asked.

Ellis nodded. "Yeah, it ain't that hard." He stepped out of the room. He looked up and down the hall, wracking his brain. He pointed down the hall. "I think that door is where they keep the guns, I saw 'em put some in there before."

Nick smiled a bit before walking down the hall and opening up the door. He turned on the light.

Hanging on the wall was all the weapons that had been confiscated when the helicopter had landed. Nick walked up and grabbed his AK-47. He smiled, loving the weight in his hands. He ejected the clip and saw it still had all the ammo in it. He held the gun up, aiming at the wall, half tempted to pull the trigger until Ellis shouted to him.

"Hey, Nick!"

Nick set the gun down and walked to the other side of the room.

Ellis stood in front of a metal cabinet that had a hazard sign on the front. The kid pulled the cabinet open and inside were various plastic bags. Each bag had an identical hazard sign along with a label that said "hazardous material".

Ellis' eyes grew wide. "Our clothes!" He searched until he found the bag with his name on the front. He snatched it up and attempted to rip the bag open. He couldn't help but smile when he saw his hat under the plastic.

Nick snatched the bag away. "Don't open that!" he hissed.

Ellis looked at him the same way a child would look at a parent when his favorite toy was snatched away. His face fell and his arms dropped limply to his sides.

"We don't want them to know we were here, at least not yet," Nick said. He set the bag back and caught a glance of his white suit and had the sudden urge to grab it but instead, shut the cabinet.

"Come on, Ellis," Nick said and left the room.

Ellis followed after a second and shut the door. He forgot about being careful and the door banged shut.

Nick winced and turned to scowl at the younger man. "Overalls!"

"Anyone down there?" Came a voice from the stairs.

"Shit!" Nick took off running. He reached the end of the hall and turned right. His bare feet slapped the concrete and he could hear Ellis close behind him.

There was loud footsteps following them.

Nick ran and made a left before ducking into a room that looked safe. He swiped the card and pulled Ellis inside. He shut the door and leaned against it, breathing hard, his heart pounding.

Ellis put his hands on his knees and bent over, gasping for breath.

"Did... they... follow... us?" Ellis gasped.

Still breathing heavy, Nick cracked the door open slightly and looked out into the hallway. It was empty and silent.

"I think we're good."

The younger man lifted his hands from his knees and covered his nose and mouth as a fowl stench entered his nose and made him gag. His eyes watered as he tried to keep himself from puking.

Nick looked at him. "Ellis what... oh God!" Nick covered his own nose as the stench hit him as well. "What the hell is that smell?"

Ellis blinked the few tears from his eyes and swallowed the rising bile in his throat.

"I dun' know but it stinks like hell!" Ellis replied.

Keeping his nose covered, Nick blindly groped the wall, looking for a light switch. Something wet and slippery covered the walls and Nick couldn't help but guess what it was. He finally found the light switch and turned the lights on. The lights flickered dimly to life. The conman swallowed when he saw the red liquid covering his hands.

"Holy shit!" Ellis muttered. The kid looked at what was in front of him with wide eyes. His heart rose into his throat and he couldn't move.

"What?" Nick grew silent when he turned around and saw it too.

Numerous zombies hung from the ceiling. Some looked fresh, others were torn apart or gutted. In the middle was a giant Tank. It's mouth was open in a silent roar.

Yellow, angry eyes glared down at the two by the door.

Ellis almost screamed before he realized the monster was dead. He took a few unsteady steps backwards.

"What the hell is this place?" he asked the man beside him.

Nick shook his head, shocked. "I don't know, it looks like some demented slaughterhouse." He looked at the bodies hanging from the ceiling.

Ellis looked away, turning green. "Let's get outta here, Nick, I'ma be sick!"

Nick nodded, looking the Tank right in it's decayed eyes.

"Find what you were looking for?" a gruff voice came from behind them.

Ellis and Nick slowly turned around. Their facial expressions were similar to those of teenagers getting caught sneaking out of the house.

The door was open, neither of them had heard the door beep or the approaching footsteps or the angry voices.

Nick's stomach clenched and Ellis paled.

In the doorway stood Miller with a smirk on his face.


	10. Chapter 10

Nothing seemed real. Not the blood that pooled around his bare feet, not the horrid stench that lingered in his nose, not even the man that stood in front of him with his thick arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

Miller glared down at Ellis and then turned to glare at Nick. "I believe you two are out past your bedtime."

Nick clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white. He gritted his teeth and swallowed the sharp words he wanted to spit at the older man.

Ellis chewed on the inside of his cheek. He nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other. His stomach churned and he couldn't help but gag.

Miller looked at him. The sadistic smile on his face only grew when he saw the young man turn green and swallow the vomit that had made its way into his mouth. Ellis grimaced at the taste.

"What the hell is this place?" Nick asked, noticing the smile.

Miller turned to him. "This? This is the room where we store those who are infected when they arrive." He pointed to the dead tank. "Ellis should know that one right there."

"Huh?" Ellis turned to the giant monster that loomed over him. He met those angry yellow eyes and froze. He hadn't been able to see it before in the dim light. The dark hair that fell into it's eyes, the scruff on the cheeks, even the scar under it's left eye from years back.

"Couldn't ever get him to shut up. 'My buddy Ellis this' and 'My buddy Ellis that'. I wasn't sorry to see him go." Miller said.

Ellis' body went completely numb. He fell to his knees, blood soaked into his pants but he didn't notice. His eyes flickered to the Tank's right arm and saw the tattered remains of a red band. Ellis began to shake.

"What are you talking about, Miller?" Nick growled. He turned and noticed Ellis on the floor and his facial expression softened.

The young man just continued to look up at the dead Tank. Nick watched as Ellis slowly deflated.

"Aw man, Keith," was all Ellis could say.

Nick glared up at Miller to find him accompanied by other soldiers. Nick closed his eyes and sighed when he saw them raise their guns. He heard Ellis gasp followed by footsteps rushing into the room. He felt handcuffs clasp around his wrists. The key card and switchblade were ripped out of his hands and someone kicked the back of his knee. Nick collapsed to the cold, blood soaked floor. He opened his eyes and saw Ellis beside him, hands behind his back and blue eyes open wide with terror and sorrow. That's when Nick knew it was game over.

She always drummed her fingers when she was nervous. _Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap._

Rochelle glanced at the door. When no one came through it, she looked at the clock on the wall for the 50-something time in the past hour.

_Tap tap tap tap._

Nick and Ellis had never arrived at the cafeteria. When Coach had asked where they were, the people in hazmat suits that always delivered their food, had just ignored him.

"Where are they?" Coach asked again.

The woman set a plate in front of him. "Just eat your food, sir," she said timidly.

Coach opened his mouth to ask again but the two quickly left the room and slammed the door shut behind them. Coach shook his head and grabbed his fork and started to eat.

"Nick, what the hell did you do?"

Rochelle had since then asked everyone that entered the room if they knew what had happened to the two absent survivors. Every time she was either ignored or the subject was changed.

_Tap tap tap tap._

Zoey glared daggers at the producer. "Will you knock it off?" she snapped.

Rochelle ignored her and watched the door.

_Tap tap tap tap tap tap._

The college girl scowled. "I thought you didn't care about them." she said.

Dark eyes left the door and bore into the younger woman. "I never once said that." she said through tightly gritted teeth. Her glare made the younger woman squirm a bit and shut her mouth. Rochelle turned and her eyes resumed staring at the thick door.

_Tap tap tap tap tap._

She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around and saw it was Coach.

"You scared me," she said softly. She looked down and Coach squeezed her shoulder sympathetically. "In all honesty, Coach, what do you think happened to them?" she asked, not looking up.

The big man sighed. "Knowin' Nick an' Ellis, they probably got caught pullin' one o' their stupid stunts. All we can do now is pray."

Rochelle bit her lip. Her eyes started to burn. Her last encounter with Ellis had been brief, just merely a hug and a few questions. With Nick, it had been angry, nothing but angst and shouting. If it was possible, she would take it back, all of it.

Coach patted her back gently. "Dear Lord, have mercy on them, 'specially after all that bullshit they been through," he said quietly in prayer.

"Amen," Rochelle finished quietly. She wiped the few tears that made their way down her face.

There was darkness and then there was advance darkness. What they were in was advance darkness.

Ellis waved his hand in front of his face. The palm brushed the tip of his nose and he still couldn't see it. He winced at the small touch.

After being handcuffed, him and Nick had been dragged out of the room and down the hall. Miller had taken the liberty to 'teach them a lesson' and had landed a few well placed blows to their faces. Once the two fell to the ground, Miller had ceased punching and started to kick until Ellis broke down and begged him to stop.

With a quick snap of the fingers, they were shoved into a tiny, windowless room with no light source of any kind.

The young Georgian lowered his hand and wrapped both arms tightly around his knees. His body ached and throbbed with every heartbeat. He closed his eyes and rested his head on his bloody knees and let out a shuddering sigh.

The silence started to prod him, the feeling of being utterly alone making him tremble.

"Nick? Ya still there?" he called out weakly.

"Yeah, I'm still here," came the con man's voice from the darkness.

Ellis nodded, forgetting that Nick couldn't see him. His eyes tried to find something to focus on other than the black sheet that surrounded Ellis on all sides. He blinked multiple times but nothing appeared out of the dark like he had hoped.

"You alright, Ellis?" Nick asked quietly.

"I'm fine," he replied. He swallowed down the lump that had grown in his throat and threatened to choke him.

Silence filled the room again. Ellis couldn't take it anymore.

He looked up at what he hoped was the ceiling and let his mouth run.

"This whole time I kinda figured Keith was dead, figured the son of a bitch was tryin' ta show off and got himself killed." Ellis took a deep breath and winced. "We got separated shortly after he flipped his truck tryin' ta avoid some people that tried ta commit suicide by jumpin' in front of Keith's truck..."

Ellis paused, waiting for Nick to interrupt him but when the older man didn't, Ellis continued.

"I never woulda thought that Keith would die in a place like this, I always figured he'd die out there killing them sons of bitches... he woulda wanted ta die that way..." Ellis bit his lip.

Nick remained silent except for his soft breathing.

Ellis let out a small laugh. "I remember this one time Keith thought it'd be fun ta jump off my roof into a swimming pool. Back then we only had one of them pools with the blow up ring along the top. How that son of a bitch managed to get on that roof is still a mystery ta me. Well, he jumped off and instead of landing in the pool, he hit the side and the whole thing collapsed. I was in the pool and nearly drowned. My ma ran out and called 911 'cuz Keith broke nearly every bone in his body..."

Ellis looked in the general direction of Nick. He waited for the interruption, but it never came.

"Nick?"

"Hmmm?" came his reply.

"How come ya haven't interrupted me yet?" Ellis asked. "Ya always do."

Nick sighed. "I don't know."

Ellis looked down and started to pick at his nails in the darkness.

Nick ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He'd never admit it had been a relief hearing Ellis go on one of his rants. His Keith stories had been nothing but annoying when the four had been trapped in the safe rooms, but at the same time, they were slightly comforting. Even when the entire country had turned into mindless infected, Ellis could still find ways to be optimistic. The groups last shred of hope seemed to die without Ellis' enthusiasm and wild stories.

Though Nick would never admit to it, he missed the stories of Keith and Jimmy Gibbs Jr, and whatever else the kid chattered about.

Ellis sighed. There was the sound of the kid moving around in the tiny space. His breathing slowed and deepened.

Nick stretched out his legs and accidentally kicked Ellis in the side. The kid didn't wake from his slumber.

Voices could be heard faintly through the door. They slowly grew louder and faster.

Nick could guess who the voices belonged to and who they were coming for.

The voices grew louder yet.

Nick rested his head against the wall.

There were two voices, both male.

Ellis muttered something in his sleep. Nick closed his eyes.

One voice was deeper and more gruff than the other. They stood right outside the door.

Nick let out a small sigh. He wished they'd hurry up, but all he could do was wait.

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><p><strong>AN**: kinda slow chapter, I'm sorry. Ch 11 up soon :)


	11. Chapter 11

The door opened painfully slow.

Bright light from the hallway invaded Nick's dilated pupils and he took in a sharp inhale of air and closed his eyes. Blue and green spots danced on the back of his eyelids.

"Huh?" Ellis slurred as he awoke from his deep yet restless slumber. He squinted against the bright light and look up at the two men that stood in the doorway.

Miller and Sanchez looked down at the two men on the floor. Miller's eyebrows quivered in anger and he scowled. Sanchez shook his head in disapproval and put his hands in the pockets of his doctor coat.

Nick slowly opened his eyes and glared at the men in the door way.

"Going to shoot us now?" he spat out.

Miller squared his jaw. "Not this time. You got lucky."

Before Nick could demand an explanation, Miller yanked both him and Ellis to their feet. He shoved Ellis in Sanchez's direction.

"He's all yours," Miller growled.

"What's goin' on?" Ellis asked, still groggy.

Sanchez grabbed his arm and started to lead the young Southener down the hallway. He pulled something black out of one of the pockets of his coat. He pressed it just under Ellis' ribcage.

"If you try anything, I will blast your guts down the hall."

Ellis swallowed and nodded, feeling the cold barrel of the gun press into his side.

Nick watched as Ellis willingly went down the hall with Sanchez.

A hand clamped around the conman's bicep like a vice. He was dragged down the hall by the big military man beside him.

Nick tried to pull away until he noticed Miller's hand twitch to the gun on his hip. Not wanting to be blasted all over the walls, Nick went quietly.

He was led up multiple flights and down a familiar hallway, passed a familiar cafeteria and to a familiar door.

Miller swiped his key card and shoved Nick inside.

Nick turned and continued to glare up at him. "I don't get it. I coulda swore you were going to shoot us." he said.

Miller gripped the door until his knuckles turned white. He squared his jaw and ground his teeth. "Trust me, I want to," he said. "But I got a request to give you and your hillbilly friend another chance. So don't fuck it up!"

Nick looked at the man in camouflage, his eyebrows raising in confusion. "Who made that request?"

"She'll be in shortly." Was Nick's reply followed by the door slammed in his face.

Nick stared the door down for another minute before he sat on his bed. _I got a request to give you and your hillbilly friend another chance..._

Who? Who requested?

Nick immediately thought of Rochelle, that seemed like something she would do. As soon as she noticed that Nick and Ellis had not joined them for breakfast, she would have started to freak out.

But why would Miller listen to her? She hated Nick at the moment anyway.

Nick groaned and set his head in his hands. Miller had said that whoever it was would be in shortly. All he could do was wait.

He didn't have to wait long.

The door gave that all too familiar beep and the door opened.

Nick looked up. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the figure standing in the doorway.

"You don't look too happy to see me," Rachael said, a smirk spreading across her glossy lips. She toyed with a single blonde curl and met Nick's eyes, challenging him. "I mean, after all, I just saved yours and your buddy's lives."

Nick remained still, his facial expression not changing. "Why would you do that?" he asked.

In one swift movement, Rachael moved from the door to his bed and sat beside him. She left the door wide open like the idiot she was.

"C'mon, Nicholas." She lifted her hand to set it on his leg.

Nick grabbed her wrist tightly in his fist. "Don't touch me," he growled.

Rachael looked up at him and batted her fake lashes. She leaned in until her lips grazed his ear when she spoke. "I can get you out of here."

Nick glared at her out the corner of his eye. There was a catch, there always was a catch with her.

"I can take you to the base up North. Things can go back to normal, the way they should be. Just you and me." Rachael said softly.

There it was.

Nick turned to glare at her. "You're kidding me, right?" he asked.

Rachael looked at him. "What? I'm offering you freedom! Why are you... unless..." she narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me you actually care about those other carriers."

Nick stood and pointed to the door. "Get out."

Rachael stood up. "You're going to throw your freedom away for some random people you met a few months back?" she shook her head. "You've gone soft, Nicholas. Let me guess, you actually care about, Rochelle, is that her name?"

Nick took a step closer. His nose almost touching hers. He spoke in a low, dangerous tone. "I'd rather die here with her than live my life with you, now get the hell out."

Rachael narrowed her eyes. "You'll regret this." On that note, she turned and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Nick closed his eyes and leaned against the wall. The only thing he regretted was not shoving her out of the way and running out the open door.

Rachael stormed down the hall the best she could in six inch heels.

Miller stood waiting just outside the cafeteria where the other carriers were having lunch.

"Didn't go well?" Miller asked.

Rachael bristled at the comment but let it slide. She opened and closed her mouth multiple times, too angry to talk. Finally, she found words.

"Do whatever you want to him, just don't kill him. That's too easy." She said pointing down the hall in her ex husband's general direction. "I want him toregret what he just did."

Miller raised an eyebrow. "How?"

The blonde through her hands up in the air. "I don't care!"

"And the kid?"

Rachael glared up at the man in front of her. "I don't care, torture him, test on him, whatever you and Sanchez can think of. Go beat the shit outta him for all I care!"

A smile tugged at the corners of Miller's mouth.

Rachael closed her eyes and spoke through gritted teeth. "I just want them to suffer!"

Miller's smile grew wider.

Ellis sat on the bed. He hugged his knees to his chest and rested his head on them.

Sanchez stood beside him, a clipboard in his hand. He asked another question.

Ellis was sick of questions and clipboards. He groaned and buried his face into his knees.

Before Sanchez could re-ask the question, the door beeped and opened.

The doctor turned to look at the door. "Miller, what are you doing in here?" he asked.

Ellis tensed up at the name. The tiny hairs on the back of his neck stood up and a chill ran down his spine when he heard the gruff voice speak.

"Taking care of something," was Miller's reply.

Ellis forced himself to look up at the big man that had entered the room. Miller was red in the face, eyebrows twitching in anger and a sadistic smile on his face.

Ellis swallowed, his throat dry. "What's goin' on?" he managed to ask.

Miller reached down and grabbed Ellis by the collar of his shirt and dragged him off the bed. "What did I say about that accent? It annoys the shit outta me!" Miller growled.

The Southener swallowed. Miller had the same crazed look in his eyes that Zoey had had a few days ago. "Ah... Ah can't help it..." Ellis swallowed.

Pain exploded in the left side of his jaw and he fell to the ground. Ellis gripped his jaw and whimpered. "What the hell?" he cried out.

Miller growled and kicked Ellis hard in the stomach.

Ellis grabbed his stomach and coughed as Miller continued to kick him. One kick hit his partially healed ribs and he cried out.

"Shut up!" Miller growled and kicked the kid on the floor again.

Ellis curled into a ball. "Stop! Stop please!" he whimpered.

Miller gave him one last kick to the ribs and Ellis cried out again.

"Miller, what the hell?" Sanchez cried.

The man in camouflage turned to the doctor. "We can't let what happened the other night happen again, so we need to set an example to show what happens when they try to escape." The man turned back to the trembling form on the floor. "Are you done trying to get out?" he asked. When Ellis opened his mouth to answer, Miller kicked him again. Ellis just nodded and hugged his throbbing ribs.

"And what happened the other night won't happen again will it?"

Ellis shook his head.

"And I'm never going to have to hear that accent again will I?"

Ellis shook his head again.

Miller turned away and started for the door. "Good, because if any of it happens again, I won't hesitate to shoot you this time." And with that, he slammed the door behind him.

Sanchez just looked down at Ellis and shook his head sadly before he followed Miller out.

As soon as the door was shut, Ellis broke down. He curled into a ball and sobbed. His last shred of hope leaving him as he cried. They were never getting out and he was going to die here.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Been meaning to say this for a while but usually when I upload, I'm so tired and forget. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews :) I really appreciate it

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><p>When the door opened and Nick walked in, Rochelle almost jumped up and ran to him. But then she noticed the absence of the youngest survivor.<p>

Nick sat at the table across from Louis. "What? No welcome wagon?" he asked.

Rochelle looked at him. "Where's Ellis?"

Nick snorted. "I disappear too and all you can say..."

"What did you do to him?" Rochelle practically shouted.

Nick narrowed his eyes. "I didn't do anything to him, and I don't know where he is. Sanchez took him downstairs and he hasn't been seen since." he said. He lowered his eyes to the metal table and saw the doodle he had drawn there days ago. He sighed and looked away from it.

The producer grabbed two handfuls of her hair and sighed deeply.

After lunch was served, the six remaining survivors scattered about the room as usual.

Rochelle stared out the window and wrapped her arms tightly around her torso. She looked up at the few clouds that floated by. She missed being outside, feeling the wind on her face and the sun on her back.

She turned away from the window, the sight depressing her. Instead her thoughts wandered. Something had happened the other night and both Nick and Ellis were involved. Nick had only been gone a few days and reappeared perfectly fine. Ellis had been dragged downstairs. Rochelle didn't want to think of the horrid things that he was going through. Tears burned her eyes. She had taken Ellis in as a little brother. Any thought of him being hurt or worse, broke her heart.

"Ro."

Rochelle opened her eyes and met a pair of dark green ones. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice cracking.

Nick didn't say anything.

Rochelle reached up and wiped the tears that had run down her dark cheeks in rivers. she wiped her hands on the jogging pants she was forced to wear and sniffled.

"Where's Ellis?" she asked after a moment.

Nick ran a hand through his dark hair. "I already told you, I don't know."

Rochelle glared up at the conman. "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing," Nick said.

The woman wasn't convinced. "Then why was he taken away? You are the only person he's with once you guys leave." she met Nick's eyes and glared at him.

Nick rolled his eyes. "I didn't do anything to him. God, the kid can get annoying but I'd never do anything to him."

"If it meant saving your own ass, you would."

It was Nick's turn to glare. "You honestly believe that shit? Think about it, Ro? That whole time we were trying to get to that bridge, did I once leave Ellis behind? Or hurt him or anything?"

Rochelle wanted to shrink under Nick's glare but she stood her ground. She squared her jaw and remained silent.

Nick pointed a finger in her face, growing frustrated. "And you want to know something? Rachael payed a visit last night." he growled.

Rochelle snorted. "Bet you had a lot of fun," she spat out sarcastically. She watched as Nick tensed against her words and grow more frustrated.

"She offered to get me out of here." He spoke slowly, trying to keep a level tone even though he wanted to yell. "But it meant leaving you, Ellis and Coach behind. I'm still here aren't I?"

The producer's expression didn't change. "You expect me to believe that?" she asked.

Nick clenched his fists. He wanted to hit something.

"What happened to Ellis?" Rochelle said a little louder than necessary.

"We got caught, ok?" Nick shouted.

Rochelle took a step back and narrowed her eyes. "Caught? I knew you were up to something!"

When she tried to turn and walk away, Nick reached out and grabbed her upper arms. Not hard, just enough to keep her from walking away.  
>"We were trying to find a way out of here!" Nick said.<p>

Rochelle blinked. "What?"

Nick didn't release her arms, too afraid she would slip away. He sighed deeply, trying to calm down.

"We snuck out the other night. I stole a key card and we snuck out, trying to plan an escape route. We found medical supplies, guns and even our clothes. But we got caught. We came across this room that looked like it was right out of a horror movie, dead bodies hanging from the ceiling, blood all over the place. Miller cornered us there. Come to find out that the Tank that was in the room was Keith..."

Rochelle bit her lip.

"They beat the shit out of us, both of us. We were locked in a tiny, dark room for God knows how long. When they finally let us out, Sanchez dragged Ellis further into the basement and I was led back up here. Rachael then shows up and says she can get me out of here and take me to the base up North. I would just have to leave you guys here. I told her to fuck off and I'm still here. And I'm still getting us out of here. Do I sound so heartless now?"

Rochelle shook her head as tears streamed down her face.

Nick let go of her and took a step back.

The producer wiped her face and sniffled. "Keith's really dead?" was all she could force herself to say. "Poor Ellis..." More tears ran down her dark cheeks.

Nick just nodded and let out a slow exhale through his mouth. "The kid's not taking it too well."

Rochelle wiped more tears from her face just to have them quickly replaced. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around the man in front of her. She felt him tense at the sudden embrace. After a moment or two, he relaxed slightly and gently patted her on the back. It wasn't the tight embrace she was hoping for but it was still something.

Nick let her cry, feeling his black shirt growing progressively wetter.

She finally pulled away and wiped her face. She looked out the window and sighed. "I miss outside."

Nick nodded. He waited for Rochelle to look back at him. "Don't breathe a word about escaping to the others, we don't need Miller finding out." he said.

Rochelle nodded.

The door beeped and Rochelle's heart skipped a beat as her head snapped in the direction of the door.

When it wasn't Ellis, just the dinner delivery, her heart dropped.

Ellis didn't return that night, or the next night. By that time, Rochelle concluded that this time Ellis wasn't coming back.

A mutual silence hung over the cafeteria. Except for Zoey who complained and kept saying that things were better off without him.

Once they had returned to their rooms on the third night of Ellis not showing up, Zoey started running her mouth again.

Hatred flooded Rochelle and she swung out and hit the younger woman in the mouth, knocking a few teeth loose.

Zoey didn't say much after that.

###

Laughter, loud maniacal laughter.

He tensed against the sound and scanned his surroundings the best he could with one eye swollen shut. He cradled a sprained and swollen wrist to his chest. The muscles in his shoulders rippled as he waited for the attack that usually followed the maniacal laughter.

His heart pounded in his ears and the laughter grew louder yet.

He couldn't take it anymore. He backed himself into a corner and slid to the ground, the cold concrete floor made him shiver.

More laughter.

He clamped his hands over his ears but the laughter still made its way through. He closed his eyes, unable to determine if the source of the laughter was going to appear or if he was only imagining it.

He wanted to cry out, beg the laughing to stop but he knew better than to speak. His eye and wrist were his painful reminders to keep his mouth shut.

Tears streamed down his face. He shook violently and wished it would end. The pain, the laughter, everything.

They had broken him, beat him down.

All he could do now was sit in the corner and cry as more of the insane laughter entered his ears.

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><p><strong>AN: **Sorry for the shorter chapter, next one will be longer. Sorry if it seems like things are a little slow but it will pick up :) R&R please


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Sorry if it's been taking me a while to update, been getting writer's block like crazy, but I got over it and here's Chapter 13, enjoy :)

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><p>"I win again."<p>

"Cheater," Rochelle muttered as Nick drew a line through the three X's in a row.

The conman shook his head and gave a small smile. "Don't be a sore loser." He drew an N over the tik tak toe game he had just won.

Rochelle grabbed the pen from him and drew another board, demanding a rematch.

Nick had stolen another pen from one of the people with clipboards that had randomly started popping in to ask the survivors questions about their health. Over the past week and a half, him, Rochelle, Coach and Louis took the liberty to graffiti the metal table they sat at everyday. The once clean table was now covered with tik tak toe games, random doodles and signatures.

Louis sat down next to Nick. "I'll play a round," he said as he motioned for Rochelle to make the first move. The producer made a circle in the middle box.

After a minute, Rochelle threw the pen at Louis. "I give up!" she crossed her arms as Louis drew an L over the board.

This was their main source of entertainment. The four sitting around the table fighting over who got the pen when. Occasionally, they'd get up and walk around. On rare occasions, Francis would join them and play a game or two. Zoey never joined them. She hadn't said a word since Rochelle had dealt with her.

Their missing survivor never returned.

"It's been nearly a week," Nick had said to a tearful Rochelle. "I don't think he's coming back."

The woman had let out a heartbreaking sob and wrapped her arms around the con man's neck and cried into his chest.

Coach gently rubbed her back and Louis hung his head sadly.

Francis bit his lip and remained silent.

Zoey stood alone in the far corner. She picked at her fingernails and sighed. She would never admit it but she felt sympathy toward the broken group. Killing zombies, fighting for your life and being together as the world turned to hell had made Zoey and her group into a family and when Bill had passed, it had felt like losing her father all over again. The college student had seen how the group from Georgia had acted and seen that they had become a family as well. Losing Ellis had to be like losing a little brother. Granted, she still couldn't help but hate the young southener, she still felt sorry for the team he had left behind.

She turned away from the sad sight and sighed while she stared out the window.

After that, any hope seemed to slowly evaporate. Nick still spoke of his escape plan to Rochelle but any hope or enthusiasm behind it was gone. Every smile and laugh that came from the survivors was forced and empty.

Other than the short time spent at the table with the ink pen, all the survivors just wandered around aimlessly like the infected they had been killing just a few weeks back.

Come night time, when they were alone in their rooms, true emotions were revealed.

Coach would say a silent prayer while Rochelle would cry herself to sleep. Nick would lie awake for hours, riddled with guilt.

Louis pointed the pen at Nick and motioned at the table, wordlessly asking if he wanted to play.

Nick held up a hand and shook his head. He stood up and wandered over to where Coach was standing.

Coach nodded at the younger man as he approached and scratched the thick, graying scruff on his face.

Nick touched his own face, feeling the thick hair that had grown there since they had arrived. What he would give for a razor.

"Ya could use a haircut there, Suit," Coach said.

Nick shook the dark hair from his eyes, a slight pang running through him at the use of his old nickname. "And a shave," he grumbled.

"Amen," Coach agreed.

The two men both gave a quick, hollow laugh. Their smiles were short lived and they stood quietly next to each other.

Nick opened his mouth to speak when the door beeped.

It had become a habit of all of them to look at the door every time it opened, expecting to see the kid walking in with that huge grin on his face.

Nick didn't even make any effort to look, knowing that it was probably just one of the hazmat people coming to take blood samples or ask more questions about his sleeping patterns or his health.

Coach watched Nick for a moment before looking over the con man's shoulder. "Dear Lord," the big man said.

Curiosity finally got the best of Nick and he looked up at the elder man. Coach's dark eyes widened slightly and a shock was evident on his facial features. Nick slowly turned to see what the big man saw. He stopped when he saw the form hunched over the table.

"Ya see it too?" Coach asked.

Nick gave a small nod. "Yeah, I see it," he said.

Coach rubbed the top of his bald head. "Good, that means I ain't gone insane yet."

Nick glanced up at him. "Or it means we both are insane."

Neither of the men made any move to move closer to the table, unsure if the figure was real or a creation of their subconscious.

Nick scanned the room. Rochelle stood by the window, her dark eyes staring at the table, wide in shock. Francis and Zoey stood in the opposite corner. They had similar expressions to Rochelle and Coach.

"Is that..." Louis made Nick jump. He had moved next to Nick and the conman hadn't noticed him until he spoke.

"I don't know..." Nick replied. No one in the room moved. Finally, Nick took a few careful steps toward the table.

The figure didn't move. It sat motionless with its face buried in its arms on the table.

Nick finally reached the table and stared at the figure. There was the sound of light footsteps and Rochelle stood next to Nick.

The conman could sense Coach and Louis move closer.

Nick glanced at Rochelle and she met his gaze and then motioned to the table with a quick movement of her head. Nick turned back to the figure and reached out. He barely touched the person's shoulder and it flinched away and looked up.

Nick jumped back, not expecting the sudden movement or the haunting look in the blue eyes that had looked up but not quite met his.

"Ellis?" Rochelle said quietly.

The kid turned to the woman and focused on her nose, not meeting her eyes. He didn't say anything.

"You're still alive..." the producer said more to herself than to the southener in front of her.

"You look like crap, kid," Francis said. Louis elbowed him.

Ellis just looked down. "I know..." he said, so quietly it was barely heard.

Rochelle turned to the biker behind her. "Is that all you can think of to say?" she snapped.

Francis shrugged. "It's true though, look at him!"

Rochelle turned and looked at the kid at the table, the others did the same. Ellis shrank under all gazes. He squirmed uncomfortably in his seat.

Nick took notice but kept quiet. The kid did look like crap. His arms were covered with dark bruises, scrapes and cuts. On the inside of his elbow was dark and puffy, obvious he had been poked with a needle more than once. He cradled one of his wrists, careful not to bump it. Around his eye was still a purple bruise. More bruises lined his jaw.

"Jesus, what did they do? Beat the shit out of you?" Nick asked.

Ellis didn't look up, he avoided looking at any of the others in the room. "Nothing..." he whispered. He closed his eyes and his shoulders shuddered slightly.

A heavy hand was put on Nick's shoulder. He looked up and saw it was Coach. The bigger man just shook his head, telling Nick not to push the subject.

"Let's just let the young'n be," Coach said. He turned and walked to where he had been standing before. Louis, Francis and Zoey followed suit and walked away from the table and went back to what they were doing.

Rochelle looked up at Nick. "What do we do now?" she asked.

Nick chewed on the inside of his cheek. He shook his head. "I can't believe he's still alive... Knowing Miller..." He looked away from the table and to Rochelle.

She said nothing. She wanted nothing more than to comfort Ellis and try to tell him things were going to be okay. Tears burned her eyes but she held them back.

"Now what?" she asked again. "Are we going through with your plan?"

Nick sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. He knew Rochelle wasn't going to like his answer. "No, not yet."

"Not yet?" Rochelle couldn't help but shout. She pointed at Ellis but before she could go any further in her tongue-lashing, Nick put his finger to her lips.

"Trust me, I have everything planned out." When Rochelle still looked angry, he went on. "Now that Ellis is back, Miller will assume that we're going to try to escape right away so there will be double the people to get by and we'll get caught for sure. We'll just wait a week or so for them to let their guard down, ok?"

Rochelle nodded as Nick removed his finger from her lips. She looked back over at Ellis at the table. He, once again, had his face buried in his arms and he didn't move. His arms were covered with welts and bruises, the only thing that stuck out was the blue tattoo that ran down his arm.

The hallway was dark. It was hard for one to see where they were going but he ran anyway.

Something splashed around his bare feet. It was warm and his stomach lurched as he guessed what it probably was.

He heard the foot steps chasing him and he forced his legs to move faster.

The hallway came to an end and split into two. One way was dark and the other one was brightly lit.

Hating the dark, he took what he assumed was the safer path. In the light nothing could hide and jump out from the shadows and attack you.

His feet slipped and he almost fell. He dared a glance down and confirmed his fears. The floor was covered with a deep red liquid.

The foot steps from behind him grew louder. They were coming to kill him, he knew it.

He turned to see if they were gaining on him but the hallway was empty. Maybe they had gone down the other hallway.

The loud growls made him spun around. His feet slipped out from under him and he fell, hard. Blood splashed up and covered him.

"Keith?" he cried.

The giant beast stood blocking the hallway. It snorted and beat its fists onto the tiled floor.

He tried to get up from the floor but the blood was too thick and slippery. The tank smashed its fists again and that's when he saw them.

The source of the blood.

Tears streamed down his face and he couldn't help but vomit at the sight of the three. One in a pink shirt, a larger one in a yellow shirt and the last one in a once white suit.

The tank let out one last snort before it made it's way towards the quivering form on the floor.

The foot steps stopped and he looked up and saw Miller and Sanchez standing over him with huge grins.

Ellis woke up screaming.

Hands gripped his arms and someone was shouting.

Ellis flailed, trying to get away.

"Calm down," whoever the hands belonged to said.

The kid continued to flail. The hands wouldn't release him. Panic rose in his chest and he kicked his foot out.

The hands released him and there was a gasping sound coming from the dark.

Ellis tried his best to crawl away from the gasping figure. His heart racing.

"Damn... it... Overalls..."

Hearing the nickname, the kid froze and looked in the general direction of the wheezing.

"Nick?" he said softly.

The older man didn't hear him and there was the sound of movement. Bed springs squeaked as Nick lifted himself up and sat on his bed. "What the hell?"

Ellis stood up and reached for the light switch. When there wasn't one, he felt his way until he found the door to the bathroom. He opened it and turned the light on.

Nick sat hunched over on his bed. One hand gripped his stomach, the other was holding him upright as he winced. He glared up at the younger man.

"The fuck?" he growled.

Feeling helpless, Ellis remained silent. He fought for words but the anger in the other man's eyes kept him silent. He shrank into the corner, feeling only two inches tall.

Nick looked away and groaned.

"I...I'm sorry... I..." Ellis stammered quietly.

The conman looked over in the kid's direction. When he saw that Ellis was tucking himself in a corner he relaxed a bit. "I'm not gonna bite you, kid," he said.

When Ellis didn't move, Nick stood up and took a step closer to him.

The kid tensed and tried to push himself further into the corner.

Nick took the step back and narrowed his eyes. "Jesus Christ, what the hell did they do to you?" he asked.

Ellis looked away. "Nothing..." he muttered.

"Bull shit." Nick turned and sat on his bed. Ellis allowed himself to breathe again. The older man motioned for him to sit on his own bed.

Ellis sat down slowly and picked up his pillow and blanket from the floor.

"I thought you were having a seizure or something with how much you were thrashing around," Nick said. "Tried to get you to wake up and see if you were alright and you kick me."

Ellis set his pillow back on his bed. "Sorry... it was justa bad dream..."

Knowing Nick was going to start questioning him, Ellis laid down and pulled his blanket up to his chin and faced the wall. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on his breathing.

After a minute, Nick sighed and the light in the bathroom was shut off. Nick grumbled to himself but Ellis didn't hear what.

Ellis lay awake long after Nick had fallen back asleep. He stared up at the ceiling, too afraid to let himself doze off, even for a few minutes. He was too afraid of what he would see.

Sleep finally claimed him as its victim a few hours later.

Maniacal laughter haunted his dreams. He woke up screaming again.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N**: Next chapter yay! enjoy!

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><p>When Nick awoke the next morning, Ellis was gone. The con man sat up in bed and looked around the tiny room.<p>

The blanket on the kid's bed was wadded up at the foot, the pillow crooked and about to fall off to the floor.

Nick got up to check the bathroom and winced at the ache in his abdomen. He grabbed his stomach where he had been kicked and sighed. At least the kid hadn't been something he had imagined.

He knocked on the door but the door just opened a bit. The bathroom was empty. Ellis was gone.

The door beeped and Nick spun around, half expecting to see the mechanic himself but it was just a woman in a hazmat suit.

"Breakfast," she said timidly.

Nick realized he was tensing and let himself relax a little. He followed the woman out the door and was greeted by Rochelle and Zoey.

Zoey smirked. "Where's your buddy?" she asked in a voice that resembled poisoned honey.

"Not here having to put up with your shit," Nick snapped. "Lucky him." He smirked at the college student and she bristled at his sarcasm.

Rochelle looked up at Nick, her mouth not moving, her eyes asking him instead.

Nick shook his head as they were led down the hall.

The woman opened another door and Louis and Francis came stumbling out. Louis stretched and his spine cracked. Francis rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"I hate mornings," he grumbled.

"You hate everything," Rochelle snapped.

Francis gave her a quick glare before he was caught up in another yawn.

There was another beep and Coach joined the group.

"Morning, Sunshine," Nick said sarcastically. A small smirk on his face.

Coach snorted. "Morning, Suit."

They finally made it to the cafeteria. As soon as the door shut, Rochelle turned on Nick.

"Where is he? What did you do to him? You didn't try to sneak out again did you?"

Nick held up his hands. "I didn't do anything! He was gone when I woke up," he glanced over Rochelle's shoulder. "He's right there."

Rochelle spun around and sighed in relief at the sight of the youngest survivor sitting by himself at the metal table.

"Thank God," she muttered.

"I'm gonna go talk to him," Nick said as he walked over to the table where the Georgian sat, studying the doodles on the table. The conman sat across from him.

"Is that supposed ta be me?" Ellis asked as soon as the con man sat down. He pointed to the first doodle Nick had drawn with the Tank. Ellis' finger pointed to the one with the hat about to get mauled.

"Uh... yeah I guess," Nick said, not sure what the kid was getting at.

Ellis looked up at him, not quite meeting his eyes. "Why is it always me?"

"What?"

Ellis looked down. "Why is it always me?" He gently touched what looked like a fresh burn on his arm.

Nick noticed the burn and cursed Miller silently. "I don't know, that's just how I drew it," he said uneasily.

"I ain't talkin' 'bout just the drawin'. It's always me. Ever since we got to that hotel. Every Witch, every Tank, Boomer, Spitter, Hunter, Smoker, Charger and every... fucking... Jockey..." Ellis swallowed before he went on. "Seems like they always went after me. I felt like every health kit was used on me... and now here..." He wrapped his arms around his torso and didn't look up.

Nick was at a loss for words. He looked around helplessly and met Rochelle's eyes. She took a few steps closer but not close enough for Ellis to notice.

"I just cause trouble..." Ellis muttered.

Nick looked back at him. "What?"

"Seems like all I did was annoy you guys and get in the way..."

"Sweetie, that's not true!" Rochelle cried and took the last few steps to close the gap between her and the table. She reached a hand out and tried to comfort Ellis. As soon as her fingertips made contact with his shoulder, he jerked away.

"Bull shit!" he cried, hurt and angry. He stood up and glared at Nick and Rochelle. "That's why ya'll were sayin' you was gonna leave me behind back at Rayford! And ya never let me talk, every time I'd try ta say somethin' it was always: 'Ellis is now the best time?' or 'Ellis, sweetie, can this wait?' or 'We ain't got time for this, Ellis'." the kid cried, mimicking the three survivors he'd been traveling with.

His shouting had drawn the attention of the others in the room. Coach walked up and joined Rochelle and Nick.

"Young'n, calm down," Coach said.

Ellis backed away from the three at the table. "That's 'nother thing! Ya'll treated me like I was a kid or somethin'. And every time I'd get hurt ya'll would complain. You'd call me an infected magnet." Tears started to run down the kid's face.

"This place is messing with your head, kid," Nick said.

Ellis glared at each survivor dead in the eyes. "Ya'll let them take me away, let them do this ta me and none of ya'll even bothered to try and stop 'em," his tone was low and dangerous. None of his companions ever heard him talk like that before.

"Ellis, sweetie..." Rochelle started. Ellis cut her off.

"You guys wouldn't let me finish one story about Keith without interruptin' me and... and he's dead..." More tears left his eyes. He took a few steps backwards until his back hit the wall behind him. "He's dead..."

Ellis slid to the ground and buried his face. His shoulders shook.

Nick leaned closer to Rochelle. "Told you he wasn't dealing with Keith's death well." he said.

Rochelle looked up at him, her eyes glassy like she was about to cry. "We were kinda rough on him, weren't we?" she asked.

Nick ignored her question. Instead, he looked over at the kid sitting on the floor.

Ellis had stopped crying. His blue eyes stared straight ahead.

"Still want to hold off on your plan?" Rochelle asked.

Nick chewed the inside of his cheek. "You're willing to take that risk?" he asked.

The woman beside him shrugged. "I don't know. I just know that the longer we're here, the worse things get." she said.

Nick nodded. "I know."

The two watched the others in the room. Coach sat at the table, occasionally glancing over at them with a raised eyebrow. The three from Pennsylvania stood by the window, talking amongst themselves.

"What about them?" Rochelle asked, nodding in their direction.

Nick crossed his arms. "How upset would you be with me if I said I wanted to leave them behind?" he asked.

That earned him a quick glare from the woman beside him.

"Leave Zoey behind, but we're not leaving Louis," she said. "Francis can tag along if he wants."

Nick snorted.

"Well?" Rochelle asked.

Nick ran a hand through his dark hair. "I still say we wait a few more days," he looked at down at Rochelle.

She met his gaze with an angry glare. "What if Ellis isn't here in a few days?" she snapped.

Nick's brow scrunched in frustration. "And what if we get caught? Then we'll all die!" he said through gritted teeth.

Rochelle narrowed her eyes and spoke in a low tone. "If he dies before we get out of here, it'll be on your head." She turned and walked off.

Nick rolled his eyes and sighed. He managed to piss Rochelle off again. He watched her walk away and sighed again.

"Damn it..."

The hallway swayed slightly as he was led by Miller and another soldier.

Ellis stumbled and fell to the floor. He landed hard on his knees and elbows. Pain shot up his limbs. He wanted to cry out but Miller's burning glare kept him quiet.

"Get up!" Miller grabbed his arm.

Ellis couldn't help but yelp as his arm was almost pulled out of socket by the force of Miller's yank. He immediately braced himself to be hit.

When the blow never came, Ellis slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the older man.

Miller's mouth was a thin line and his eyebrows quivered. He released the tattooed arm in his hand and continued to glare.

Ellis tried to shrink away from the threat that was in front of him but bumped into the soldier behind him. He was shoved back towards Miller.

Miller glared down at Ellis. He spoke in a low, threatening tone. "Your little friend is planning something. I know he is. Especially after that little stunt you pulled today."

Ellis swallowed. Miller hadn't been pleased with what had happened in the cafeteria.

"You best make sure that doesn't happen again. And tell your friend, that whatever he's planning, it's not going to work. If he tries anything, I will shoot him and whoever else is involved, understand?" he growled.

Ellis nodded.

Miller said nothing more. He grabbed Ellis' arm again and threw him into the room they were standing outside of.

Ellis hit the floor, hard and the door slammed shut.

Still on the floor, he looked up and expected to see Nick in his bed, waking at the noise and looking around through sleep filled eyes.

Instead, the bed sat empty.

Thinking they may have put him in a different room. Ellis crawled over to the bed and wiggled his way under it.

Various items were taped to the underside of the bed. Pens, forks, and other random items Nick had stolen since they had arrived. One item caught Ellis' attention.

He couldn't help but reach out and grab it.

The item was flat, about the size of a credit card.

Ellis turned the card over in his hands and saw Miller's face glaring at him.

"What the hell are you doing?" someone growled.

Ellis jumped and his forehead smacked against the underside of the bed.

Hands clamped around his ankles and the kid was pulled out from under the bed. Something sharp was pointed against his throat.

"Drop whatever you took," growled the voice.

The card dropped from Ellis' fingers and he trembled. "N-Nick..." he choked out. "It.. it's just me..." the words caught in his throat as panic seized him.

Nick stood up and removed the item from Ellis' throat. "Damnit, Ellis," he muttered.

Ellis sat up and rubbed his forehead. He grabbed the card from where he had dropped it and turned it over in his hands. He looked up at the older man standing above him.

"Why do ya got Miller's key card?" he asked.

Nick quickly snatched the card away and shoved it under his pillow.

"Because, the last one I stole got taken away. Miller had his out where I could grab it so I did." Nick walked over to the bathroom and opened the door, letting the light into the room.

Ellis stood up and moved to his bed. He laid down and covered himself with the thin blanket. "What did ya try ta kill me with?"

Nick looked at the object in his hand. "A fork," he said quietly.

Ellis snorted and a hint of a smile tugged at his lips for the first time since they had arrived. "A fork?"

Nick sat on his own bed and tossed the fork next to him. "Hey, it was all I had." He looked down and ran both hands through his hair.

Ellis just nodded and stared up at the ceiling, enjoying the tiny shred of happiness. What Nick said next, stomped it out.

"The plan's all set."

Ellis turned his head to look at Nick. "Huh?"

"To get out of here. Me and Ro have been planning it." Nick said. "We gotta wait for Miller to let his guard down, so it will be about four or five more days but..."

Ellis sat up. He looked down, avoiding Nick's eyes.. "Nick, I don't think we should..." he muttered quietly.

The older man stopped talking and glared at Ellis. "What?"

"I..." Ellis shifted uncomfortably under Nick's glare. "I don't think we should try to escape again..." he fiddled with a hole in the bed sheets. He braced himself for the tongue lashing he knew Nick was about to dish out.

"You don't think we should try to get out of here?" Nick growled. "So, you want to stay here and be treated like prisoners? Or lab rats?"

Ellis winced against the last few harsh words. He avoided looking at Nick's face. "We're gonna get caught again..." he muttered.

"The hell, Ellis?" Nick yelled. "What did I just fucking say? We're waiting a few days so we don't get caught!"

"There's still a risk..."

"So you'd rather us sit here and suffer cuz you don't wanna take a risk?"

Ellis glared up at the older man. "They'll kill us if we get caught again!"

Nick took the glare as a challenge. "I'd rather die trying to get the hell outta here than die cuz of some crazy experiments! But if you'd rather have it the other way, then you can stay here and let Miller and Sanchez finish what they started!" Nick yelled, hitting a nerve.

Furious, Ellis stood up and glared up at the older man, hating his smaller frame. "I never said that!" he yelled back. "Besides, what do you care?" Ellis went on before he could stop himself. "Ya only care 'bout yerself!"

Nick barked out a laugh. "Don't tell me you believe that shit too?"

Ellis knew he should stop but the smirk on Nick's face kept him going. "Sure makes a hell lotta sense. Based on what they said, you ain't nothing but a criminal!"

Pain exploded in his jaw and he fell to the ground.

Nick stood over him with blood on his knuckles. "And you're nothing but an inbred idiot that's only good for CEDA to test on." he growled.

Something in Ellis snapped and he was on his feet. There was a loud crack and blood poured down his hand but he didn't care.

Nick rebounded and this time got Ellis square in the eye.

By that time, a full on fight had broken out between the two. Punches were thrown back and forth at a rapid pace along with strings of insults. Each insult hitting a new nerve and adding more fuel to the fire. All their built up frustration, coming out at once.

"What the hell?" a gruff voice shouted.

Both men ignored him and went on beating each other.

Ellis' feet suddenly left the floor and he was thrown out into the hallway. He crashed to the floor and had a gun shoved in his face.

Nick cursed loudly and was dragged out, Miller holding his hands behind his back.

Miller glared down at Ellis. "Get your ass up!" he yelled.

Ellis climbed to his feet, still glaring at Nick.

The con man continued to stare right back.

"Dumb shit!" Nick yelled, Miller released his arms and he wiped some of the blood off his face from his broken nose. When he saw the crimson liquid covering his fingers, he glared back up at Ellis with hatred in his eyes. "You mutherfucker!" he growled. To keep him from attacking the kid again, Miller kicked the back of his knee and he fell.

Ellis spit out the blood in his mouth and felt that a few of his teeth had been loosened a bit.

The glob of saliva and blood hit Nick's cheek just below his eye.

He swore and tried to get up but Miller kicked him onto his side.

"It wasn't on purpose!" Ellis snapped.

"Bull shit!"

"Enough!" Miller yelled.

Both men went silent.

"I don't know what the hell is going on but it's fucking done! You!" he pointed at the soldier behind Ellis. "Bring that one down to the basement and lock him up! And you!" Miller pointed down at Nick. "You're coming with me!"

The soldier nudged Ellis and started to lead him down the hall.

"Good riddance!" Nick called, holding his nose, trying to stop the bleeding. "Don't hurry back!"

Ellis glared over his shoulder. "Right back at ya, bro."

The soldier led Ellis down the hall and around the corner.

Miller shoved Nick. "Get moving! I don't need you getting blood all over my hallway." he growled.

Nick grumbled but walked down the hall in the opposite direction of where Ellis had been led.

Miller shoved the con man again. "Go faster! You and that hillbilly are in a hell of a lot of trouble."

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><p><strong>AN**: Nick and Ellis snapped, oh no! Next chapter up soon!


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **Getting major writer's block so if I don't update for a while that's why, also Spring Break is starting so I might not be able to get on the computer much. Anyway, here's Chapter 15, Enjoy :)

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><p>Rain fell softly onto the cobblestone as the four beaten survivors made their way along.<p>

Infected growled and jumped out of the shadows. They were quickly greeted by bullets or the blade of a fire ax.

"Come on, ya'll, we gotta get back, I miss the car," Ellis said, messing with the ax in his hands. He had run out of ammo long ago and he hadn't found any more shotgun shells and refused to leave his prized Spas behind.

Nick snorted, reloading his Magnum. "That's not the only thing you're missing."

The younger man's ears started to turn pink. "What else would I be missing?" he asked, knowing very well what the con man meant.

"Zoey, Zoey, Zoey, Zoey. She is an_ angel_," Nick mocked the kid in a terrible accent.

Rochelle slapped him on the chest. "Knock it off," she scolded.

The pink on Ellis' ears had turned a deep scarlet and spread to his cheeks and down his neck. "Well she is..." he muttered.

Coach put a hand on Nick's shoulder before he could make another comment. "Alright, ya'll, let's keep movin'," he said.

The three younger survivors nodded and continued down the street.

The rain had started to fall heavier and the wind picked up, making visibility zero.

"Damn rain!" Nick growled, pulling the coat of his suit tighter around him, trying to stay warm.

"Shhhh, I hear a witch," Ellis said, he clicked off his flashlight.

How he could hear the crying woman over the rain, was a mystery to Nick but he shut off his flashlight anyway.

They moved slowly, trying to peer through the rain to catch a glimpse of the infected woman.

There was a loud shriek and Ellis cried out and ran past Nick.

"Shit, man! I pissed her off!" he cried.

The pale woman ran past the survivors after the young man who had accidentally kicked her.

At that same moment, a Charger let out its battle cry and charged. It's meaty fingers latched around Coach's abdomen as Nick and Rochelle flew across the street.

"Help! This thing is beating the shit outta me!" Coach cried out.

"Help! Help!" Ellis cried, followed by his howl of pain.

Nick quickly scrambled to his feet and pulled Rochelle up.

"Go help Coach, I'll get Ellis!"

Rochelle nodded and ran off after the Charger, gun raised and firing.

Nick pulled the AK from his back and ran over to the young Southener and the infected woman. He held down the trigger, every bullet hitting the Witch in her back.

She let out one final cry before she fell on top of Ellis.

He shoved her off and tried to get up.

Nick grabbed his arm and helped him up.

"Why do you always have to piss the Witch off?" he asked the younger of the two.

Ellis pulled the health kit off his back and started to fix himself up the best he could. He watched as his blood mixed with the rain and ran down the street.

"It was an accident, I couldn't see her 'til I stepped on her," he said.

Coach and Rochelle ran up to them as Ellis finished healing.

Rochelle wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. "Think we could duck into any of these buildings for a minute and dry off?" she asked.

Ellis tossed the empty health kit aside and squinted through the rain. "That building up there ain't boarded up." he said, pointing to the shop just down the street.

Without argument, the four quickly ducked through the open door and out of the rain.

"Tattoo parlor?" Rochelle commented. She noticed the various designs and needles lying about along with the dead girl in one of the chairs, half a tattoo on her arm.

Ellis took off his hat and shook out his wet hair. "Man, I love tattoos," he said, looking down at the blue one that ran down his arm.

Nick snorted.

"Hey, Nick, me and you should get tattoos that say 'Bro's,'" Ellis said.

"I hate you, Ellis," Nick said.

"Well I still like you, Nick."

Nick tried to fight through the fog he was swimming in. Bright light shone in his eyes and he shut them and groaned.

His body refused to move, feeling like veins were full of lead and were weighing him down.

He fought to sit up but he collapsed against the soft pillow again.

"Shit..." he grumbled and managed to raise his arm to rest it across his forehead.

A sharp throbbing started in the middle of his face and branched outward. He gently touched his nose and hissed at the shock and instant migraine.

His mind refused to present the memory of what happened to his face and where he was.

Nick finally dared to open his eyes.

Once his eyes adjusted, he was able to look around and take in his surroundings.

The room was bigger than the one he usually was in. The walls were that pukey green and the bedding was a blinding white. Nothing else was in the room except the bed and an IV stand with a bag of red liquid hanging from it.

Green eyes followed the tube until they saw where it ended in the crook of his arm.

Scowling, Nick yanked the needle out of his arm and shoved the IV stand away.

There was no way he had lost that much blood from a broken nose and it surely wasn't pain medication or else his face wouldn't be throbbing the way it was.

Nick swung his feet over the edge of the bed and stood up, swaying and feeling dizzy. He just managed to make it to the sink in the bathroom before his legs gave out. He gripped the sink and held himself up until he got his legs under him again.

"Damn it, Miller," he growled. He turned the water on and splashed some on his face, careful not to hit his nose. When he looked up in the mirror, he frowned.

His nose was purple and swollen and slightly crooked. A few other bruises covered his face and chest.

_You ain't nothing but a criminal!_

"Ellis..." he grumbled.

The previous night came back as the fog continued to lift from around him.

He had fought with Ellis. He clenched his fists, Ellis had broken his nose, not Miller.

_And you're nothing but an inbred idiot that's only good for CEDA to test on._

Nick's anger diminished as the rest of the memory leaked into his thoughts. He looked down at his knuckles and noticed they were bruised, almost black. Some were split open, one required stitches that trailed down the back of his hand.

He sighed. He had hit Ellis first. Punching him in the mouth as soon as the word 'criminal' left his lips. He remembered the satisfaction of his knuckles making contact with the young man's teeth and watching as he fell to the ground. Guilt knotted his stomach and he looked away from his messed up hand.

_You mutherfucker!_

Ellis had gotten up from the floor, swinging, and pain had exploded in Nick's face but he had been too involved in the fight to notice. His words made their around and were starting to haunt him.

Nick left the bathroom and saw the bag on the IV stand.

Green eyes narrowed and teeth ground against each other. They had drugged him. That had to be the only explanation for the bag, or why they had even dragged him down here in the first place. Otherwise, Miller would've told him to suck it up and wipe up his blood from the floor.

Anger seized him, this time not at Ellis but at everyone. Miller for treating them like unwanted animals, Sanchez for his crazy tests, the military for not protecting them, CEDA for abandoning them, and the zombies for destroying the world they once knew.

The IV stand crashed to the floor as Nick threw it across the room.

"Fuck you!" he yelled at the bag when it didn't break. Nick kicked the bag against the wall but it still didn't break. "You son of a bitch!" Nick glared at the bag and stomped on it. The bag exploded and the dark red fluid splattered all over his feet and pants, it pooled on the floor and some splashed onto the walls..

Gripping the metal stand in both hands, Nick started to lose control. Thoughts of all that had happened, the fight and the dream he had awoken from, playing over and over in his head in a jumbled, guilty mess.

_Hey, Nick, me and you should get tattoos that say 'Bro's'._

He threw the stand and it crashed to the floor, unharmed.

_I hate you, Ellis._

The con man fell to his knees, for once, not caring about the blood soaking into his clothing.

_Well I still like you, Nick._

Nick put his head in his hands.

The others were not brought into the cafeteria that day. Instead, their food was delivered to their rooms an hour late and stone cold.

Rochelle set her half empty plate beside her on her bed.

Zoey glared at the woman and continued to eat her soggy toast. "Not hungry?" she asked with a little more snark than necessary.

The older woman shook her head and looked out the window. The sun was starting to rise above the horizon, a few of its early rays landed on the woman's dark face.

"Would you, by any chance, know why we are still in here?" she asked the college student.

Zoey snorted. "Yeah, probably another relocating." she said.

"What?" Rochelle turned and looked at her.

Zoey nodded, her dark hair falling into her face. "There's other carriers all over this building. Miller keeps them in small groups so they can't all gang up and bust out. When they are moved about in the building, the rest of us are locked up. Miller's paranoid like that." she took a bite of cold eggs and chewed them with disgust.

Rochelle raised an eyebrow. She had always wondering what they did with the other carriers, if there was any others left.

"They're probably relocating because more carriers were rescued or because Ellis died. I'm thinking the second one." Zoey said with no emotion.

Rochelle bristled at the comment and narrowed her eyes.

"What?" Zoey said when she noticed the look on the other woman's face. "It's true, with all the testing and shit they do to him."

"Why? Why just him?" Rochelle asked.

Zoey swallowed her last bite. "They start on one until they die and then move onto the next, that's the only reason we're here, so when Ellis dies, there's someone next in line to take his place. Which, based on the way he's been acting, it'll be Colonel Sanders."

Fear gripped Rochelle and made her chest feel tight but she didn't dare show it in front of the younger girl.

"You don't know that," she challenged.

The college girl shrugged. "Usually they pick either the youngest or most injured, which Ellis was both. Then they move onto the next youngest, which would be me, or whoever acts out the most, that would be Nick." she said.

"You sure know a lot about this," Rochelle said, skeptically.

Zoey let out a quick laugh. "Of course I do, I mean, who do you think they started testing on before you four showed up and Ellis became their newest victim." The college girl pointed to herself. "Me."

"Lemme out! Hello? Anyone?"

Ellis had awoken in pure darkness, alone and unable to move around. He could sit if his legs were crossed or he could stand, those were his only options.

He banged on what he hoped was the door. "Anyone out there?" he yelled out.

There was no response.

Ellis prayed that Miller wouldn't hear him yelling.

He banged on the door again. "Someone! Lemm out!" he cried louder this time. He listened for a moment but there was no sound on the other side of the door.

Ellis sat down and crossed his legs, his knees pressing against the side walls. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

They had locked him in a closet and either forgot about him or left him in there to die.

The last time he had been locked in a closet was in New Orleans. A jockey had incapacitated him. Before anyone could help him up, a horde had appeared and forced his team further and further away from him. He didn't remember much of what happened after that, all he could remember was waking up in a closet. He tried to open the door but something blocked it so he called out and Nick opened the door moments later.

No one came and opened the door this time when he cried out.

His mouth ached and he gingerly touched his front teeth and winced.

Nick.

He had been trying to get them out of here. Ellis said a few things he shouldn't have, things he never would have said if he wasn't locked up like he was. He had started the fight even if Nick did swing first.

The young Georgian put his head in his hands.

He'd jeopardized their only way of making it to freedom, he had pissed Miller off and gotten himself locked up and the worst of all, he had broken his friend's nose.

_I hate you, Ellis_. Nick's words from so long ago rang in his ears.

Ellis closed his eyes. "I hate me too..."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** Sorry if it took a while to update, been busy and had writer's block. Here's chapter 16, enjoy :)

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><p>It was two more days before Rochelle and the others got to see the cafeteria again.<p>

The ever annoying beep of the door awoke the two woman. They were ushered out into the brightly lit hallway.

Rochelle fought to keep her eyes open as they stopped at Coach's door and let him out.

"Get up old man!" one of the soldiers growled.

"I'm comin'," Coach grumbled as he shuffled out of the room.

"Can you move a little faster?" Another soldier snapped and shoved the older man with the butt of his gun, causing Coach to stumble.

The heavyset man fell hard on his bad knee and took in a sharp inhale followed by a hiss of pain. "Son of a bitch!" he growled softly.

"Coach!" Rochelle bent down to help him up. She turned toward the smirking soldiers. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

The soldier that had shoved Coach shrugged. "New orders from Miller. Use any force necessary," he said.

Once Coach was back on his feet, Rochelle turned to meet the camouflaged man's eyes. "Shoving him wasn't necessary!" she snapped.

Her reply was the butt of his assault rifle jammed into her abdomen. The air was forced from her lungs and Coach had to grab her arm to keep her from falling.

The three were led to the cafeteria and shoved inside.

Zoey turned around frantically. "What about Louis and Francis?" she cried.

"They've been relocated to a different part of the building," one of the soldiers replied.

"What? But..."

The door was slammed in her face and the sound echoed in the empty cafeteria.

Zoey put her head in her hands and started to tremble. "This can't be happening... First Bill..." she let out a shuddering sigh. "Louis and Francis... they were all I had..."

Coach reached out and placed a hand on the young girl's shoulder as a sob escaped her lips.

"It'll be alright," he said. "Ya still got us."

Without a word, Zoey took a step closer and let the big man hug her as she cried.

"Thank you," she whispered between sobs.

Rochelle gave Zoey a quick pat on the back before noticing movement out the corner of her eye.

"Nick?"

A dark haired figure sat at the table, pen in hand, looking frustrated.

He looked over at the woman who had called his name with green, bloodshot eyes.

Rochelle ran over to him. "Oh my god! What did they do to you?" she lightly touched his bruised nose.

Nick hissed and pulled his head back. "_They_ didn't do that," he muttered, his speech low and slow. "Ellis did."

Rochelle pulled her hand back and set it in her lap. "Ellis?" she asked, confused.

Nick nodded. "Yeah, just had a... disagreement..."

"A disagreement?" Rochelle challenged.

Nick grumbled to himself. "Ok so we fought! He busted my nose and I may or may not have knocked out a few of his teeth, I'm not exactly sure."

Rochelle looked down at her hands twisting in her lap. "Where's Ellis now?" she asked softly.

"I don't know," the con man said. "After we fought, they took him one way and Miller took me the other..." he rubbed his temples. "I don't remember much..." he closed his eyes. "They drugged me and there was blood everywhere. They found me sitting in the blood and..."

Rochelle bit her lip and tried to fight back the tears her eyes were burning to shed.

"They thought I had lost it so they strapped me to the bed like I was some crazy person," Nick went on. "Sanchez was there and said I was his new 'rat'..." Nick sighed, trying to recall the past few days. "The drugs they gave me fucked me up. Miller said Ellis is dead, and it's my fault..." Nick looked up at the woman sitting next to him.

Rochelle met his bloodshot eyes. His pupils were dilated and he swayed back and forth. His body was here but the Nick she met on the roof of that hotel was buried under the drugs he was forced to take.

"So Ellis is really dead this time?" she asked softly, her throat closing up, causing her to choke.

Nick shook his head. "No," he said, his voice holding the serious tone he had always used. "Miller's got him locked up somewhere. He's trying to break us, Ro, why else would he seperate us from Louis and Francis?"

Rochelle's jaw dropped as she tried to speak. "You... but... I..."

"Yer not still talking 'bout escapin', are ya?" Coach asked.

Rochelle jumped, she hadn't noticed Coach and Zoey had walked over.

"There's an escape plan?" Zoey asked.

Nick ignored her and looked up at Coach. "You bet your ass I am."

Coach crossed his arms. "And when were ya planin' on goin' through with it?"

Nick stood up slowly, swaying slightly but still looking Coach fiercely in the eyes. "How about tonight?"

###

No one was coming. He could yell all he wanted but no one was going to answer his calls, no one was going to open the closet, no one was going to save him.

He hugged his legs tightly to his chest and rocked back and forth, whimpering softly.

"I'm gonna die 'ere," he muttered to himself.

The words scraped his dry throat and came out hoarse and quiet. What he would do for a drink.

"I'm sorry, Zoey," he muttered. "Louis and Francis too. I never meant ta hurt you guys... I was only tryin' ta help. I never meant fer ya ta end up 'ere..." a sob escaped his dry, cracked lips. "I'm sorry..."

The darkness seemed to swallow him as he continued to speak to himself.

"I'm sorry, Keith," he choked out. "We never shoulda split up, man. Yer mah best friend, they shouldn'ta done that to ya. I'm sorry I didn't stop 'em."

Tears started to stream down his face and his body started to tremble.

"I'm sorry, Ma. I know I promised ta be on them helicopters, but..." the young man began to fall apart. "I know I messed up a lot and caused ya so much worry, and I'm sorry, I love you..."

The final threads that had been holding Ellis together the past few weeks, were fraying more and more as he went about his apologies.

He wiped his face frantically, but more tears flowed down his face and made his efforts useless.

"I'm sorry, Ro and Coach and Nick," he sobbed. "I was nothin' but trouble. I'm sorry fer goofin' off and attrackin' all them infected and wastin' all yer health. I'm sorry fer annoying you guys with my dumb stories..." His shoulders shook violently and his words were almost impossible to understand. "And I'm sorry fer ruinin' yer chances at freedom... Nick, I'm sorry I messed up yer plan..."

Ellis curled into a ball, unable to say anymore.

His whole body shook with sobs.

The last thread snapped and Ellis completely fell apart.

He rocked back and forth, unable to think, unable to do anything besides cry, mutter barely understandable apologies and wait for it all to end.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: **Thank's for the reviews :) Writers block is starting to get the best of me :/ Came up with the idea for this chapter late at night but I didn't write it down before I fell asleep so it's not as good as what I originally planned, I tried my best to remember the idea though. Enjoy!

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><p>The clock ticked in unison with the throbbing in Nick's head.<p>

He sat perched on his bed, eyes closed. He focused on his breathing, taking in deep, slow breaths.

The effects of the drugs were all in his head. He just needed to focus. If he had managed to think himself sober even though he blew a .10, on multiple occasions, then he should be able to think the strange drugs away. But it was so hard with all this bright light.

He missed his old room, the one he had shared with Ellis. That room was warm, that room didn't have a camera that watched his every move, and that room wasn't lit up like a damn Christmas tree.

Nick shut his eyes tighter. The whole plan was depending on him and if he failed, no one was getting out.

First things first, get out of the room he was in. He wasn't sure how he was going to do that but he knew the answer would present itself soon, no matter how unpleasant.

"Focus, focus," he said to himself.

They had given him the drug roughly six and a half hours ago, give it a half hour to get fully into his system and the drug usually lasted about six hours and twenty minutes.

He cursed under his breath. Sanchez had decided that injecting Nick like they had Ellis was 'unsafe for those involved'. So he had started forcing Nick to swallow pills and drink concoctions while a gun was shoved into his temple.

Nick glanced at the clock. He had maybe another twenty minutes until the drugs started to wear off.

"Tits," Nick grumbled as the door beeped.

Sanchez and Millie walked in with a tray of food and a clipboard.

Nick eyed the tray, especially the glass of water. The water looked a little cloudy. He made a mental note to avoid it at all costs.

Sanchez walked up to Nick and without a word, checked his blood pressure, temperature, and blinded him by shining a tiny flashlight in his eyes.

Nick growled and shut his eyes.

Sanchez scribbled on his clipboard.

The sound and the pen scratching the paper was equivalent to nails on a chalkboard to Nick. He had to force himself not to cover his ears.

"Temperature is normal, pupils are a little dilated and his blood pressure is a little high," Sanchez said to Millie. The short woman nodded and took the clipboard from the doctor.

When she reached for the clipboard, Nick caught a glimpse or her key card pinned to the inside of her sleeve cuff. His eyes darted to Sanchez's sleeve and saw his key card pinned to the cuff as well. They had finally caught on.

Nick smirked to himself while the two had their backs turned. It would be much harder to snatch one now without them noticing. Challenge accepted.

Sanchez and Miller turned back around and Millie grabbed the tray of food from where she had set it.

"Hungry, Nicholas?" Sanchez asked, gesturing to the food tray.

Nick bit his tongue to keep from snapping at him. The best thing he could do was to stay silent.

"You sure you don't want it?" Sanchez smirked. "Bet it's been a long time since you had a burger."

Nick snorted but didn't make the snarky comment hiding behind his clenched teeth.

Millie handed the tray to Sanchez and the doctor waved it in front of Nick's face.

"Smells good, doesn't it?" The doctor said, his smirk growing. "Don't you want a bite?"

Nick began to salivate at the smell of the grilled beef and melted cheese. He glared into the doctor's gray eyes. "You first," he said in a low tone.

"Excuse me?"

"You take the first bite," Nick said.

Sanchez looked down at the food and Millie paled.

"You know what? I would love to but I ate before I came here," Sanchez said, his voice a bit shaky.

Nick glanced up at the clock. "Your dinner is 6:30 to 7:15. It's only 5."

Sanchez froze. "How do you know that?"

Nick jumped off the bed, causing the two to take a few steps back. "I've been here long enough to pick up on schedules. I mean, none of us had anything better to do than sit and stare at the clock all day."

"Sit down!" Sanchez commanded.

Nick raised an eyebrow but didn't move. He could see the fear in their eyes.

The door beeped, making the three jump.

"Sit down!"

A hand grabbed the back of Nick's t-shirt and he was thrown to the ground. Miller glared down at him before walking over to Sanchez.

Nick remained on the floor as Miller pulled the other two into the corner and began talking in a quick, hushed tone.

The con man adjusted on the cold floor and Miller took notice and turned away from him more.

Nick smiled. There, attached to Miller's left hip, gleaming black and silver snug in a holster was his way out. He got up silently and started toward them, thankful for the first time to be barefoot.

Once he was an arm's length away from the big man, he stopped and reached his arm out. His hand wrapped around the cold metal of the gun's handle.

He knew as soon as he tried to move the gun, Miller would notice. He glanced up at the camera then back to the two men and Millie who had yet to notice him.

Taking a deep breath, Nick gripped the gun tighter and yanked it out of its holster.

"What the hell?" Miller yelled.

Nick slammed the gun into the side of Miller's head, causing the bigger man to crumple to the floor. Blood started to run down his face. Millie screamed and Sanchez bent down to help the fallen man.

Nick aimed and shot the camera. The tiny electronic exploded in a shower of sparks.

By that time, Miller had groaned and started to become aware of the situation.

"Step away from him!" Nick yelled at Sanchez and Millie pointing the gun in their direction.

They both stepped back as Nick knelt next to Miller and pressed the gun against his forehead.

"Where are you keeping Ellis, Louis and Francis?" Nick growled.

Miller chuckled and blinked the blood from his eyes. "You think I'm afraid of you?" he asked. "You don't have the guts to pull the trigger."

In one quick movement, Nick pulled the gun away from Miller's face, aimed over his shoulder, fired and replaced the gun to Miller's forehead.

Millie screamed again and burst into tears.

Sanchez's hands went to his lower abdomen, the gun in his hand clattered to the floor. Blood dripped between his fingers and he collapsed.

"He shot him! He shot him!" Millie screamed.

Nick ignored her and glared at Miller. "You can cooperate or I can start shooting up the place, it's your choice." he growled.

Miller just glared back. His eyes flickered over Nick's shoulder for a millisecond but Nick still noticed.

He turned and saw that Sanchez had picked up his gun and was trying to aim for Nick's head. Sweat beaded on his forehead and he shook violently as blood dribbled down his chin. One hand was still pressing against his wound.

Without thinking, Nick shot the hand holding the gun.

Sanchez howled in pain as his hand exploded in a mess of blood and flesh. He dropped the gun and continued to scream.

"Stop it!" Millie screamed, tears ran down her face.

"That's our only doctor!" Miller growled.

Nick turned back to him, finding it suspicious that he hadn't tried to take the gun away or so much as fight back.

"Then maybe you should cooperate," Nick growled.

Miller smirked up at Nick from where he was lying on the floor.

There was a loud crack as Nick broke his nose.

Millie screamed again.

"You!" Nick turned to her and pointed the gun at her.

The woman's eyes widened.

"I need you to get someone for me," Nick said and held his hand above his head. "He's about this tall, covered with tattoos and greasy, goes by the name of Francis. I believe you know who he is."

Millie nodded and dashed out of the room.

Miller chuckled, his talking nasally due to his nose. "You really think you can escape?" he asked Nick.

The conman turned to him before kicking him over onto his side and ripping the handcuffs off his belt.

"My plan seems to be working," Nick said.

Miller didn't struggle much as Nick handcuffed his hands behind his back. Nick's suspicions rose higher.

"So your plan was to kill a man?" Miller growled. "To save your own ass?"

Sanchez's howls had grown silent.

Nick looked over at him, still keeping the gun pointed at Miller. The doctor's chest rose and fell unsteadily.

"He's not dead."

"He will be soon enough, he's our only doctor that survived the infection," Miller said.

Nick glared back at him. "That's bull shit! Your guilt trip shit isn't going to work on me."

"That's right, you'd need a conscience for that to work."

Nick grumbled and looked away from the handcuffed man smirking up at him. He remembered Rochelle looking up at him with wide, terrified eyes once she had heard what Rachael had said about him. _You killed someone?_ No, he never killed anyone. Sanchez was going to live. He had shot him out of self defense. Sanchez pulled a gun on him first.

_You killed someone?_

Before Nick could fully get lost in his thoughts, the door beeped and Millie walked in with Francis behind her.

Francis' eyes widened at the sight before him. "Holy shit..." he muttered.

Nick said nothing. He bent down and grabbed the key card from Miller's sleeve.

"Did you..." Francis pointed at Sanchez then at Miller. "By yourself?"

"Yeah," Nick replied as he walked over to the doctor.

"Damn, Colonel Sanders!" Francis said.

Nick gritted his teeth, hating the nickname but focused more on the doctor. He turned him over to check where the first shot had hit him. His hand was ruined, that much was for sure. Sanchez coughed and gasped.

"What are you doing?" he asked in a raspy voice.

Nick saw that the bullet hadn't hit anything important. He grabbed Sanchez's card and stood up. "You'll live," he told the man.

Nick handed Sanchez's card to Francis.

The biker studied the card. "What the hell is this?" he asked.

"Card to open the doors, we're getting out of here, but I need your help," Nick said.

Francis put the card in the waistband of his jogging pants and eyed the conman. "With what?"

"Him." Nick pointed at Miller.

Miller snorted. "What do you need me for? You seem to have everything taken care of."

Francis bent down and grabbed his arm and pulled Miller to his feet, handcuffs still in place.

Francis glared at the military man. "Why _do _we need him?"

"He knows where Ellis is at, and we need him." Nick said.

"I told you, that redneck is dead." Miller said.

Nick gave a quick laugh. "Do you think I'm stupid, Miller?" he bent down and grabbed the gun from the floor and tossed it to Francis. "He's not dead. Every time you kill someone you shoot them publicly. I study details, Miller. That's how I got away with so much shit and never got caught."

Miller growled but said nothing.

Every time a carrier or infected person was killed, Miller made a big show of shooting them in front of everyone on the base.

Nick and Ellis had witnessed quite a few a week after arriving. Gunshots rang in the middle of the night and Ellis had called Nick over to the tiny window and they had watched with growing dread.

Nick turned to the small woman and held out his hand.

Millie removed the card from her cuff and placed it in his hand before dashing to the fallen doctors side.

"Let's go," Nick grumbled.

"I'm not telling you where he's at," Miller snapped.

Francis tightened his grip on the military man as he tried to pull away.

"God damn it, Miller!" Millie screamed. "Just tell them where their fucking friend is so they can get the fuck out of here!"

Nick looked at her, one eyebrow raised.

"We don't need them going around shooting everyone!" Millie glared up at the big man in handcuffs.

Miller rolled his eyes. "Go down the hall, take a left then a right then another left and it's the fourth door on the right." he said.

Francis looked at Nick, a skeptical look on his face.

The con man opened the door and gestured for Miller to walk through. "Lead the way," he said.

Francis shoved him. "Move it!"

Miller started out into the hall. Once in the small hallway, he slammed Francis into the wall and tried to run for it as the biker fell, gasping for breath.

Nick fired the gun once and Miller stumbled and fell.

By that time, Francis was back on his feet and was walking over to pick up Miller.

"You got terrible aim, Colonel Sanders," he laughed.

"I wasn't aiming to kill him, just slow him down, we need him." Nick growled.

"You shot my fucking foot!" Miller spat, foaming at the mouth slightly with his growing rage.

Nick just shoved him, forcing him to walk forward.

Francis kept his gun dug into Miller's ribs.

They walked down the long hallway until it split into two.

"Which way?" Nick asked.

Miller glared down at him. "Left, I told you that."

"Just making sure you're sticking to your first story."

Francis and Nick led the military man down another bright hallway.

There was the sound of pounding feet and a group of young men in camouflage appeared at the end of the hall, guns raised.

"Drop your guns!" the one in front yelled.

"Sorry, that's not in our plans," Francis smirked.

The young man in front put his finger on the trigger of his gun. "Then I'll shoot!"

"Don't shoot! I've got this under control!" Miller yelled.

Guns still raised, those blocking the hallway looked from Nick to Francis and Miller. After a moment, they lowered their guns one by one and stepped aside to let the three pass.

Nick turned and stood back to back with Francis, watching the men, his eyes not leaving them until they were out of sight.

The hallway was getting dimer the farther they went. By the time Miller stopped in front of a door, the hallway was almost black.

"In there," Miller growled.

Nick ripped the flashlight from Miller's belt and opened the door.

The room was small and dark and empty.

Nick glared over his shoulder. "It's empty!" he growled.

Francis tightened his grip on Miller. "You trying to play games?" the biker growled. "Cuz we can play games too."

"Shh!" Nick shushed him.

There was a pounding sound followed by a muffled voice.

"Nick? Francis? That you?"

Nick stepped into the dark room and motioned for Francis to follow.

"Anyone out there?" came the voice again.

The beam of the flashlight swept over the pukey green walls. Finally, it rested on a smooth door painted the same color as the walls, easy to overlook in the darkness.

"Ellis?" Nick called out.

There was movement behind the door. The door handle wiggled a bit. "Nick? Is that you?"

"Yeah. You alright?"

There was a pause before Nick got a reply.

"I think so, just thirsty. Ya got any water?" the kid's voice replied.

"Not at the moment."

The con man grabbed the door handle and tried to open it but it was locked.

"It's locked, Nick," Ellis muttered through the door.

Nick sighed. "No shit."

Green eyes scanned the walls but a card scanner was not to be found.

"You can't open the door with a card," Miller said.

"Then how do we open it?" Francis asked. It was obvious he no longer found having the man as a hostage very fun.

In the dim weakening beam of the flashlight, Miller rolled his eyes and sighed. "You need the key that's in Sanchez's office, on the other side of the building." he grumbled.

"Gonna go back?" Francis asked.

Nick shook his head and leveled the gun with the door. "We don't have time for that. Ellis! Back away from the door!"

There was some scuffling from behind the door. "I kinda can't," the kid replied.

Nick fired once, twice, three times. The door handle fell to the concrete floor with a clang. As soon as the door was opened, arms wrapped themselves tightly around the con man.

"Man, ya don't know how good it feels ta see another person!" Ellis said before realising Nick.

Ellis looked around the room, straining to see with the dim light. He caught a glance of Francis and Miller and took a step back.

"Nick? What did I miss?" Blue eyes glanced up at the older man.

Nick put a hand on his shoulder. "Not a lot."

Francis shoved Miller to the floor and rolled his shoulders. "What now, Colonel Sanders?" he asked, wincing as his shoulder popped loudly.

"Nick, it's Nick," the shorter man grumbled. He turned and looked at the seething man on the floor.

"Lock him up, we're done with him and we don't need him getting in the way," Nick said, seeing the destroyed door handle.

Miller snickered. "The door handles ruined, you can't lock me in that closet, it won't lock."

Ellis and Francis stepped out of room. Nick stood just outside with his hand on the door. "No, but this door still does!"

With a slam and a beep, the door to the room shut, locking the room's only occupant inside.

Nick handed Ellis a key card as they backtracked the way they had come.

The younger man looked at the card. An eyebrow rose as he turned it over in his hands,

"Nick? Why does Sanchez's card got blood on it?" he asked, a hint of fear in his voice, making it quiver slightly.

Nick fiddled with his gun as they continued down the halls, trying to not get lost in the now brightly lit maze.

_You killed someone?_

He shuddered and hoped Francis and Ellis didn't see.

"Don't worry about it, let's just go get the others," was his reply to Ellis' question.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** Stayed up super late to get this chapter done, so if there are mistakes, I apologize. Enjoy!

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><p>It had been a long time since her last dream. Most nights fragments of nightmares she had had before came and went, other times her sleep was dreamless but not very restful and then there was the nights she didn't sleep at all.<p>

But now she was dreaming, she knew she was. There was no other explanation as to how she got back on top of Mercy Hospital. A figure patted her shoulder and she looked over and swallowed the lump in her throat when she saw Bill looking at her, giving her a small but warm smile. He opened his mouth to speak but instead, a loud, familiar beep came from his throat and out his mouth.

Zoey sat up, eyes opening. The dream trickling away from her as she looked around the tiny room.

Rochelle sat up also and yawned. She glanced up at the clock and her expression went from tired to confused.

"It's only 11:56," she said and looked at the door as it sat slightly open. "It's a little too early for breakfast."

The door flew open the rest of the way and both women hissed and shut their tired eyes against the harsh light of the hallway.

"What do you want?" Zoey snapped.

She squinted and saw a figure standing in the doorway.

"Ro?" it said.

The older woman froze momentarily before launching herself off the bed and throwing her arms around the figure. "Ellis! Are you alright?" she cried.

"I'm fine," the kid said.

"How did you... I mean..." Rochelle stumbled over her words, wracking her tired brain for the words she was looking for. "It was Nick, wasn't it?" she asked.

Ellis nodded. "Pretty much, yeah."

Zoey shrank into the corner. She tried to blend into the wall. A mixture of guilt and confusion churned her stomach along with a slight pang of anger that she still got from seeing the reason why she was here.

"C'mon, Nick's getting Coach and we're gettin' the hell outta 'ere!" Ellis said.

The producer nodded and stepped out of the room, leaving Ellis in the doorway.

Zoey bit her lip. They were leaving, going back to their freedom. Her dark hair fell into her face as she looked down.

"C'mon, Zoey!"

"Huh?" Zoey looked up and saw Ellis extending his hand for her to grab. She didn't move, she just stared at the hand offered to her.

"I ain't leavin' without ya!" Ellis said.

Zoey looked up at him before reaching forward and grabbing his hand.

With one quick yank, he pulled her onto her feet and led her out into the hall.

"We're just waiting on Francis," Nick said as they joined him, Rochelle and Coach in the hall.

"Speak of the devil," Rochelle said as Francis rounded the corner, Louis close behind.

"Francis!" Zoey cried as she threw her arms around his wide shoulders. After a moment, she turned and hugged Louis, tears slowly falling down her face.

Nick cracked his knuckles loudly. "Alright, reunion over, we don't have much time." he said. He turned to Ellis. "You remember what rooms we need to get into?" he asked.

The kid nodded. "I think so, follow me!"

Bare feet hitting tile and quick, ragged breaths were the only noise as the seven ran through the halls and down the stairs. Their time out with the zombies, trying to sneak around as many as possible, especially the Witch, had trained them to move swiftly yet quietly.

Ellis finally stopped at a door. "In here!" he cried and ran his stolen card over the scanner. The heavy metal door beeped and the young Southener whipped the door open before ducking inside.

He made a beeline for the cabinet him and Nick had found on their first trip down here. The doors were still open and some of the plastic bags had slid out. Ellis grabbed the first one and saw the Depeche Mode shirt inside.

"Here, Ro!"

Rochelle nearly dropped the bag that was thrown at her. "Ellis what is this...?" she stopped talking when she saw her worn but still favorite t-shirt inside. "Our clothes." she said quietly.

Ellis stood at the cabinet, tossing bags of clothes to their owners. The sound of tearing plastic was almost deafening as the survivors desperately tried to get to their clothing.

Francis pulled on his black vest and sighed. "It's been too long," he said as he pulled on his gloves.

"Hey, Nick!" Ellis cried, holding a bag full of white clothing. "They even cleaned yer suit!" he smiled and tossed the bag to the grumbling con man.

"They better have," he muttered, relieved to have his suit back and to see the kid smile again.

Ellis grabbed his bag and smiled when he saw the trucker hat and BullShifters shirt contained in the plastic. He tore into it with his teeth, spitting the plastic onto the floor. Ellis pulled off the black shirt CEDA made him wear and pulled on the faded yellow shirt. He wiggled out of the jogging pants and pulled on his coveralls, tying the armsaround his waist. Brushing his hair out of his face, he placed his hat on his head, missing the feel of it hugging his head.

"We still need shoes," Louis said, wiggling his toes.

"Here they are!" Rochelle bent over and grabbed shoes off the bottom shelf of the cabinet. She stood up with her brown boots in one hand, white dress shoes in the other. She tossed the white shoes to Nick.

Nick caught them and slipped into them. "Never thought I'd miss clothes this much," he said.

"Hey, you're Colonel Sanders again!" Francis chuckled, taking his boots from Rochelle as she handed them to him.

The man in the white suit stiffened. "My name is Nick, four letters, one syllable, how hard is that for you to remember, Grease Monkey?" he spat.

Before either of the men could start arguing, Coach stood between them.

"Now ain't the time for this shit," he said.

Nick grumbled as Francis was handed a pump shotgun and dual pistols.

"Here, Nick," Ellis said, handing Nick an AK-47.

Nick took it. "Thanks, kid."

"Where to now?" Louis asked.

The con man looked around the room. "Ro," he said his eyes settling on her. "You, Zoey and Coach stay here and collect as much ammo as possible, keep it sorted. Me, Ellis, Francis and Louis will go down the hall and get medical supplies, if we're not back in 5 minutes, get out of here as fast you can."  
>Rochelle nodded and motioned for Zoey to follow her.<p>

Nick pointed at the door and the other three men followed behind him.

"It's that door," Ellis said, knowing Nick was going to ask.

The four ducked inside quickly.

Seven red bags were taken from where they originally lay and medical supplies were shoved into them until the seams were strained and the zippers would barely zip up. Gauze, bandages, antibiotics, pain pills, adrenaline shots and so on.

"Grabbin' pills," Louis said as he put an extra bottle on his belt.

"You're always grabbing pills," Francis said.

Nick slung a health kit over his shoulder, two more in his hands. He went about filling them. "Hurry up, we only got a few minutes left."

Supplies were quickly shoved into the red bags.

A roll of gauze was removed from the shelf and there it sat, hidden from whoever entered the room. The small object was eyed carefully. There was a reason it was hidden, it was something Miller and the CEDA people wouldn't want anyone to tamper with, although the survivors had found them useful during their time of need.

Without a word, the object was snatched from the shelves and shoved into a pocket, hidden from the others.

###

"Someone get me the hell outta here!" Miller yelled, kicking the door. Imprisoned in his own base, by a couple of weaponless, barefoot carriers.

He should have known. That Nick wasn't given enough credit. Miller cursed himself for thinking Sanchez's drugs could stop him. Nothing could, not the police, not any drugs, not his ex wife, not even the damn zombies.

"Damn you to hell!" Miller yelled, kicking the door again.

He hadn't fought much, thinking he could get away. Not locked in a room where he had locked that damn kid.

That idiot redneck from nowhere that didn't give up. The kid that refused to die. Drugs similar to those given to Ellis had killed so many before him yet he was still alive with what seems like no side effects. Miller had beat him, tortured him, even tried to drive him insane and the kid still walked away fine.

Seething, Miller glared at the door. He had lost control, he had slipped from power. Now everything would crumble and the zombies would take over human race, all because Nick refused to give up and Ellis refused to die.

Miller yelled out curses and kicked the door until huge dents were left in the thick metal.

The door beeped and opened.

"Calm down, my God, sorry I was a little late," the blonde grumbled, stepping into the room. Her heels clicked against the hard floor as she walked over and pulled Miller to his feet.

Rachael pulled a key out of her bra and went about releasing Miller from the handcuffs. "How did you know about Nick's plan anyway?" she asked.

Miller rubbed his wrists. "Hidden security cameras in every room. Nick may be observant when it comes to the little things but misses the obvious things."

Rachael smirked. "Sounds about right."

The man in camouflage looked at the blonde. "Get everyone with a gun out of bed and ready to go. No one is escaping tonight." he said.

Rachael pursed her lips. "Do you even know where they are?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Miller looked into the corner of the hallway where a tiny camera was completely hidden from sight. "No, but I can find out."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews :) I know I've been updating a lot, hopefully the ideas keep coming. Here's the next chapter, Enjoy!

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><p>The hallway was silent. Rochelle, Zoey and Coach continued to sort the ammo boxes in front of them, stacking each type in small piles for each person based on which gun they had.<p>

Zoey had found some backpacks and grabbed seven of them, putting the ammo in each bag. She slung her own onto her back.

Rochelle wrung her hands nervously and glanced at the clock above the door.

"Should we wait another minute or two?" she asked.

Coach scratched at the scruff on his face. "It's been nearly ten minutes," he said.

Rochelle looked down. Her backpack was slung on her back, Nick's was in her right hand, Ellis' in her left. "I know..."

Nick had told them to leave after five minutes if they weren't back. Five minutes passed but Rochelle had insisted that they stay a few extra minutes in case Nick miscalculated and it was taking them a little longer.

Coach grabbed his and Louis' backpacks and got up from where he sat on the floor. "Alright, we best get movin'," he said.

Zoey gripped Francis' backpack and let out a deep sigh.

"Don't leave yet!"

Ellis ran at the door in full sprint. When he realized he was about to overshoot the door, he tried to stop but couldn't in time. His shoulder smashed into the door frame and the supplies in his arms scattered on the floor.

"Ellis!"

"Oof!" Ellis cried as Nick's shoes slid on the slick floor and he slammed into Ellis, his supplies also clattering to the floor.

"Dumbshit!" Nick panted.

Francis and Louis ran up behind them.

"Quickly, start grabbing what you can!" Nick said, bending down to pick up his dropped items..

Rochelle and Zoey passed out the backpacks. The red health kits were shoved inside along with various items that the men had grabbed from the closet, razors, shaving cream, mouthwash, shampoo, soap, even a couple boxes of tampons.

"Make sure ya'll leave room for food an' water," Coach said, zipping up his bag.

Francis swung his bag onto his back. "And where would we get that?"

"Upstairs, the kitchen is just down the hall from the stairs, I could smell it on the way down." Nick said.

Zoey looked out in the hall, keeping watch. "You know what I don't understand?" she asked. "How come we haven't gotten caught yet? You think Miller would have found us by now."

Francis patted her back. "Miller is taken care of," he said with a smile.

Before Zoey could question him, Nick shoved them both out the door. "Let's go."

The small team made their way back the way they had come, moving slower now with the extra weight.

"This seemed so much lighter before," Ellis stated, adjusting the bag and fire ax on his back, trying to get them to sit comfortably.

"I know," Rochelle rolled her shoulders, the Scar in her hand feeling like it weighed a hundred pounds.

"Shhh!" Nick shushed them.

They had reached the top of the stairs. All seven of them instantly froze, trained ears listening for any sound, any movement.

Nick let his gun hang from its strap once more. "Thought I heard something." He swiped his card, letting them out into the hall.

"That food smells so good," Zoey said, her eyes closing. She took deep inhales, the smell of grilled meat and various seasonings stimulating her senses.

Nick waved them down the hall and up to a door with a round window. After a quick peek into the window, he put a finger to his lips and motioned for them to follow him but to keep low and quiet.

Two overweight men stood at a stove, laughing. They toasted the bottles in their hands, the contents sloshing over their hands and hissing as it hit the stove, before taking another drink. One belched loudly and the other stumbled and nearly fell. Both were drunk and burning whatever they had been trying to cook.

"Good thing we're not eating here tonight," Rochelle whispered as one of the guys sneezed on to the stove and the charred food.

Nick led them to the back of the kitchen to a cabinet and pulled the door open.

"Only grab non perishables and only what you can carry," he whispered.

Ellis stood up and reached over the older man's head as the others grabbed food from lower shelves. His hand wrapped around the small jar with a red lid. A smile spread across his face.

"Is that... peanut butter?" Zoey asked quietly.

"Sure is," Ellis whispered.

Zoey looked up at the shelf. "Is there any more?"

Ellis tossed the jar to her. "Naw, but you can have that one." He turned back to the pantry, but he still noticed the confused look on the college girl's face.

"Everyone got some food?" Rochelle whispered.

The other six nodded and put their bags back onto their backs.

Louis turned and his bag caught a few boxes of noodles and sent them crashing to the floor. The survivors flinched at the sound.

"What was that?" One of the drunken cooks yelled out.

"Hey! You're not supposed to be in here!" the other one yelled, spotting the open pantry and the people in front of it. "Billy! Them carriers are stealing our food!"

The first man, Billy, grabbed a huge knife. "Hell if they are!" he yelled out.

"Run!" Nick yelled. He ran for the door, shoving it open easily. He turned and saw Francis and Zoey were right behind him, Rochelle and Louis behind them with Ellis and Coach bringing up the rear.

The two drunken men burst out of the kitchen after them.

A loud piercing wail started throughout the halls. An alarm.

"God fucking damn it!" Nick growled.

"I'm sorry, guys, I'm so sorry!" Louis cried as he ran.

"Maybe we should have taken the red bands off before we tried sneaking out," Francis yelled at Nick over the siren.

Nick led them around a corner, ready to snap back but froze. Francis and the others couldn't stop in time and ran into the man in the white suit, nearly sending him to the floor.

Francis grabbed his arm and kept him upright. He looked forward and froze as well.

Gun in hand, Millie blocked their only way. The sounds of the drunken men behind them grew louder.

The short woman held up the gun and leveled it with the top few buttons of the blue silk shirt. Tears flowed freely down her face but her eyes burned with hatred.

"You killed my husband you son of a bitch!" she growled.

Nick felt everyone's eyes on him. "Sanchez? I didn't kill him." His stomach knotted up as Millie tightened her grip on the gun.

"Yes you did! You shot him twice! He bled to death! I couldn't stop the bleeding in time. You fucking killed him!" she growled.

Ellis looked down at the bloodstained card in his hand then back at Nick. "What she talkin' 'bout?" he asked, a hint of fear in his voice.

By now, the two drunken men from the kitchen had rounded the corner, knives held tightly in their hands. The seven were trapped.

Francis and Coach pushed Rochelle and Zoey towards the center of the group as they turned to face the two drunken men from the kitchen.

Zoey's heart began to beat erratically as she moved closer to Louis and Ellis.

Nick had turned as white as his suit when Millie closed her eyes.

"She's gonna shoot!" he cried out.

The first gunshot sounded followed by a scream. More gunshots sounded quickly after.

Strong arms wrapped around Zoey and spun her around. Her first reaction was to panic but she then realized whoever had a hold of her was shielding her from the flying bullets.

Unable to turn, and through the chaos, she couldn't tell who was protecting her.

Rochelle screamed and fell to the ground to her right. She gripped her lower leg, blood dripping between her fingers.

Coach and Francis were trying to keep the men from the kitchen back.

Gunshots continued at random intervals. A stray bullet hit Billy, his head exploding in a mess of blood and brains.

Zoey screamed loudly as she watched the body slump the floor.

Francis wiped the blood from his face and turned to face her.

"Look o-" he started.

Whoever was protecting Zoey suddenly screamed in her ear.

Something warm and sticky splattered on her face.

Screams and cries of pain mixed with the continued gunshots were deafening.

Another shot and more blood spattered on the college girl's face. The screams of pain in her ear grew louder.

Something blue hit her temple. It was the bill of a hat. That's when Zoey realized who had put themself between her and the bullets.

"Ellis!" Zoey cried as the young man's grip loosened around her.

The gunshots ceased but the screaming and chaos didn't seem to quiet.

"Rochelle!" Someone yelled.

There was the sound of a struggle close by.

"Ellis!" Zoey cried again as his arms fell away and he started to slump to the floor. She grabbed him and spun to face him. His eyes slid shut as he lost consciousness. "Oh, God no!" she screamed, not noticing the tears that blurred her vision. She eased him to the floor. "Ellis!" she screamed for the third time.

Coach knelt by her side. "Is he alive?" he asked.

Zoey wiped her tears. "I don't know."

"Nick! We need some help over here!" the big man called.

Nick got up from where he was kneeling with Louis by Rochelle.

"Good God," he muttered. He knelt down and carefully helped Coach turn Ellis over.

Zoey covered her mouth and sobbed. The floor all around them was a bright scarlet. Someone was still whimpering in pain. "Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God." Zoey cried over and over again.

Coach grabbed her shoulders. "It's gonna be ok, he's alive, just got his arm an' side. He's gonna be ok," he said.

Zoey continued to sob and shake.

"Yer just in shock, take some deep breaths," Coach instructed.

Zoey took a few deep inhales until she could feel herself calm down enough to grasp the situation.

The two men from the kitchen lay behind her. Both were dead, having been hit by Millie's stray bullets. Millie was also dead, having turned the gun on herself when Francis tried to wrestle the gun from her.

Rochelle lay on the ground, a bullet had grazed her leg. Francis and Louis tended to her.

Francis was favoring his one hand. A few of his fingers were broken and were starting to swell and turn dark.

Louis, Coach and Nick seemed unharmed.

Ellis groaned.

Now that Zoey had calmed, she could see the that the bullets had only grazed his arm and side.

Coach patted her back. "He passed out from the pain," he explained. "He'll be ok."

Nick finished wrapping up the kid's arm. "We're just lucky that Millie was a terrible shot," he grumbled.

Zoey fell to her knees next to him and looked down at Ellis.

"He..." she swallowed. "Even after I treated him like shit... he still risked his life to protect me."

Nick gave a quick laugh. "Yeah, he tends to do that. He's a good kid, stupid, but has good intentions," he said.

Ellis opened his eyes.

"How you feel?" Nick asked.

Ellis winced but smiled. "Like a million bucks," he said.

"Well isn't that nice?"

Zoey's blood ran cold at the gruff voice behind her. She saw Nick clench his teeth and Ellis paled. Out the corner of her eye, she saw Rochelle, Francis and Louis freeze.

Nick looked up. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" he growled.

Miller stood smirking down at the them with Rachael on his arm. About three dozen men with guns stood behind him.

Distant footsteps grew louder as the other end of the hallway filled with more men with more guns.

"How?" Rochelle asked.

Miller gave a quick laugh. "Seems like the oh-so-observant Nick forgot about one little thing," he looked Nick in the eyes. "Security cameras."

Nick closed his eyes and mentally kicked himself. He had been so focused on every other little thing the obvious had slipped his mind.

"You forgot cameras? That's the most obvious thing to think about, Colonel Sanders!" Francis yelled.

Nick turned to him, something snapping. "My name is fucking Nick you ugly, vest-wearing, bastard! It slipped my mind, at least I was putting forth an effort to get out of here unlike you who, just sat on your fat fucking ass!" he yelled.

Francis blinked, shocked by the sudden outburst.

"Nick, calm down," Rochelle pleaded.

"No! Ever since this fucking apocalypse, things have been shit." he turned to Miller, getting progressively louder. "Everytime I try to get us out of here you have to show up and fuck everything up! Well fuck you Miller! Fuck you too, Rachael. Go rot in fucking hell for the rest of your fucking lives!" He stood, glaring at Miller, panting.

"Nick..." Rochelle said softly.

Miller smirked and met Nick's glare. "Give up yet, Nick?" he asked.

The con man said nothing, he just continued to glare at him, too angry to form words.

"Good, now that that's taken care of," Miller motioned for the soldiers behind him to close in.

With cries of shock and pain, the survivors were yanked up from the floor, metal handcuffs gripping their wrists.

Miller turned and started to walk away with Rachael. He limped as he walked.

"Lock them in room 513, I'll deal with them first thing tomorrow morning."


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** Sorry about the longer updates, been sick in bed for a while. Maybe writing with a fever was not my best idea, so this and last chapter may change, depends on how I feel about it and what you guys think. Thanks for the reviews :) Enjoy!

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><p>Room 513 was about the size of a broom closet and just as dark.<p>

The survivors had been stripped once again of their weapons and supplies. However, they were allowed to keep their own clothing seems they 'wouldn't be needing them long', as one of the soldiers had put it.

After the door had shut, the only light came from the tiny window, just enough to make out shapes but details remained hidden.

The three from Pennsylvania distanced themselves the best they could and sat in the far back corner of the room. None of them had spoken since they had been recaptured.

Coach sat down by the door. Nick slid to the floor in the corner next to the bigger man.

After a moment, Rochelle sat next to Nick and looked at him sadly, the moonlight reflecting off her eyes.

Ellis paced back and forth, trying to find something, anything that he could use to get out.

"What's the plan now, Nick?" he asked.

Nick sighed and leaned his head back against the cold concrete wall. "I don't have one," he answered after a moment.

"What?" Ellis stopped pacing and looked in Nick's general direction. "But ya always gotta plan. I mean, ya promised ta get us outta here."

"Well, I got nothing, Ellis, it's over!" The con man sighed sadly. He felt Rochelle place her hand on his elbow. The moonlight glittered off the tears on her face.

"But, Nick..." Ellis started.

"Ellis! It's over! We gave it our best, there is no way we can get out of here now! Miller beat us, he won!" Nick snapped at the younger man.

"But..."

"It's over, Ellis!"

Ellis looked down and wrapped his arms around his torso. He began to tremble slightly. "I wanna go home," he said softly, his voice choked up and shaking.

"Ellis, sweetie, it'll be ok," Rochelle reached forward and tugged his pant leg, getting him to sit next to her. She sat crossed legged and Ellis rested his head on her knee and curled into a ball.

Rochelle removed his hat and ran her hand through his hair in a motherly way, trying to keep him calm.

"I guess you was right, Nick," Ellis muttered softly. "Back in that helicopter..."

Nick bit his lip. There was silence for a moment until Ellis spoke again, quieter than before.

"They really gonna shoot us?" the kid asked no one in particular.

The only reply he got was Francis' and Coach's snores. Zoey and Louis said nothing, Nick and Rochelle guessed they had probably dozed off as well.

A sigh came from Nick. "You really want me to answer that kid?" he asked.

Rochelle felt Ellis shake his head slowly as she continued to run her fingers through his soft curls.

The three were silent for a long time. The only sound were the snores and deep breathing of the other four that had managed to fall asleep, trying to have one last sweet dream before morning came.

No matter how hard Rochelle tried, she couldn't let herself relax enough to sleep. Not with her two boys falling to pieces on either side of her. With one hand, she continued to run her fingers soothingly through Ellis' hair, with the other, she gripped Nick's hand. His hand was cold and she could hear the insults he threw at himself as he continued to beat himself up over what had happened, something he wouldn't have done a few months ago.

She had taken them in and treated them like they were her own flesh and blood. Back out with the zombies, she wouldn't sleep, eat or rest until she was sure they were safe and calm. Now was no exception.

"Ro?"

Rochelle looked down and squinted, trying to see the youngest survivor's face. "What, sweetie?" she asked.

Ellis was silent for a moment, almost like he was deciding whether he should continue his thought.

"I don't wanna die..."

Rochelle bit her lip as tears started to fall down her cheeks again, her heart breaking. She felt Nick gently squeeze her hand as she tried to compose herself enough to talk.

"I know, Ellis," she said, managing to keep her voice level.

"After all that fighting..." the kid's voice cracked. He took a shuddering breath. "I don't wanna die..." the last sentence came out a quiet whisper.

Hand still running through his hair, Rochelle took a deep breath. "Just don't think about it, ok? Why don't you tell us one of those Keith stories?" she suggested, her voice trembling a bit.

Ellis moved a bit and sighed. "I can't think of any..."

Rochelle bit her lip and tried to swallow the lump that was starting to choke her. "Then try to get some sleep, ok, sweetie?" she said, her words starting to get caught in her throat.

Nick squeezed her hand again as they sat in silence, waiting for Ellis to fall asleep.

"I think he's asleep," Rochelle said once Ellis' breathing had slowed and deepened.

Nick adjusted, a joint cracking. "Good, the kid could use a good night's sleep." he said, not letting go of Rochelle's hand.

Rochelle swallowed. "So this is really it. After everything, this is how it all ends."

"Afraid so," Nick paused. "I'm sorry, Ro."

Rochelle shook her head. "Don't be, shit happens, I guess..." she let her voice trail off.

Neither spoke for a long time. Rochelle just continued to run her hand through Ellis' hair, even after her hand cramped up. Nick closed his eyes and rested his head back against the wall and listened to the soft snores and deep breathing of the others in the room.

A familiar noise made its way to Nick's ear and at first he thought he had imagined it. He heard it again and opened his eyes and looked around.

Rochelle looked at him. "You hear it too?" she asked.

Nick nodded and stood up quietly. "Been a long time since I've heard it." he said and made his way over to the tiny window.

In the moonlight, the base was easily visible past the window. A few smaller buildings lay past the building they were in now. A clear area, probably a makeshift landing pad, lay beyond the buildings. The only thing separating the base from the zombies outside was a 15 foot tall fence with barbed wire snaking across the top.

Standing at the fence was the source of the growls and snarls. Dozens of infected beat on the fence. The source of the noise Nick had heard presented itself. Hood over face, the Hunter screeched and pounced at the fence. It hit the fence and backed away with a snarl. It pounced again, screeching louder but it hit the fence again. After a moment, it must have realized what was blocking its path and began to scale the fence.

A gunshot rang out and the Hunter fell dead. The other infected looked down at the dead body before snarling and shrieking and beating the body.

Nick stepped away from the window and shook his head.

"A fence, a fucking fence!"

Rochelle looked up at him as he sat down next to her again. "What about a fence?" she asked.

Nick ran a hand through his dark hair. "That's all they have to keep the zombies out, a fence!" he grumbled. "Miller must be an idiot to think that will keep them out. And by the looks of it, that alarm earlier drew a bunch of them in, they just haven't climbed the fence yet."

The woman beside him blinked. "A fence? But if there's a Tank or a Charger..."

"I know..."

Rochelle let out a small sigh and rested her head on Nick's shoulder. She closed her eyes. "Don't think poorly of me when I say this but, in a few hours, we won't have to worry about that," she said.

Nick rubbed her back. "I know... I know..."

The woman shifted and winced. "Tell you what, being here sure has made us lazy," she muttered. "We used to get our asses kicked every day and we'd still keep going. Now, we take a stray bullet and we're down for the count."

Nick chuckled softly and Rochelle joined in, neither knowing why they were laughing.

Rochelle had to cover her mouth to keep from getting too loud.

The man in the white suit beside her sighed deeply, the laughter dying almost as quickly as it had started. There was nothing to laugh about, they'd be shot dead in a few hours, there was nothing funny there. Or the fact that Rochelle and Ellis had gotten shot, that wasn't funny either. But the laughter felt good. Nick felt Rochelle's head back on his shoulder and watched as she closed her eyes once again. Nick wrapped his arm around her and rested his head on top of hers.

Rochelle's breathing began to deepen and slow. "Good night, Nick," she said through a small yawn.

"Night, Rochelle."

###

Sitting upright so quickly made his head spin.

"Ah, dammit!" he held his head between his hands and tried to force the dream to fade from his thoughts.

He had overheard Nick and Rochelle's comments about the fence, unable to fall asleep. Once he finally did, the dreams had not been pleasant.

The brick wall was so vivid every time he closed his eyes.

Coach had been shot first. Rochelle had screamed and tried to run to the bigger man's side but Nick held her back. A second gunshot had sounded and out the corner of his eye, Ellis watched Nick slump to the ground lifelessly. Rochelle's screams were silenced a moment later.

Ellis never turned away from the wall, just watching as the tan bricks grew more and more red as each gunshot sounded.

"Ready! Aim!" A gruff voice yelled. "Fi-"

The man was cut off as there was a loud growl.

"Holy hell!" someone had yelled.

The sound of the fence ripping and collapsing with barely heard over the growls as the giant beast beat the ground, trying to get at the people beyond the fence.

People screamed and ran around, tripping over each other and trampling those who fell.

Ellis watched the Tank come closer, throwing people out of its way. Gunshots sounded but were no use against the hunk of muscle.

It raised its arm and all Ellis could do was raise his arms in front of his face. It didn't hurt when the fist made contact with his torso but the cracking of his ribs was deafening. Hitting the ground didn't hurt either.

People still ran about, screaming and trying in vain to run from certain doom.

Infected flooded through the hole in the fence and claimed the nearest humans as their first victims.

The last thing Ellis remembered was the ground shaking and a loud growl. He looked up from where he lay and saw the chunk of concrete flying through the air about to crush him.

That was when he woke up, jerking into an upright position, head throbbing, body shaking and clothes drenched in sweat.

Ellis let go of his head and looked up as the pounding slowed a bit. The first few rays of morning sunshine were starting to peek over the horizon and sneak in through the tiny window, making it easier to see.

Nick lay on his back a few feet from the young Southener. Rochelle's head was on his chest, Ellis' hat in her hand. Nick's arm was draped over her sleeping form. Both were out cold.

Coach lay on his side by the door, his big arm folded under his head for comfort.

Zoey, Louis and Francis were curled up in the far back corner. All sleeping.

Suddenly feeling very alone, Ellis moved closer to Rochelle and curled up beside her.

The woman moved and looked at Ellis with sleep filled eyes. "Ellis?" she mumbled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean ta wake ya," Ellis said softly.

His reply was her hand quickly ruffling his hair before she fell back asleep.

Ellis didn't fall back to sleep. Blue eyes refusing to close, he watched as the sun slowly rose and lit up the ruined world below it.

His dream played over and over until the door beeped and was thrown open and Miller started shouting at them.

"Everyone up, now!"

Men flooded the room and dragged the survivors out one by one. Some protested and tried to get away, others went quietly.

They were marched outside.

The sun shone brightly, the sky clear of any clouds. It was almost as if the sky was mocking them. Being so bright and cheerful on such a dark day.

Rochelle gasped when she saw where they were being led to. Zoey began to cry quietly.

"You can't do this!" Francis yelled, jerking his arms, trying to pull them out of the military mens' grip. One of the soldiers twisted his arm and the biker let out a hiss of pain but went silent.

Ellis looked over at who was standing next to him. He met Nick's eyes.

Nick's face was perfectly composed, his eyes, however revealed the guilt and fear he was hiding from his face.

"This is it, bro," Ellis said, his stomach knotting up in fear.

Nick nodded as they stopped walking and Miller started barking orders. The tan brick wall loomed over them.

"Yup," he said after a moment.

Over Nick's shoulder, Miller was still shouting. The first few people were lined up against the wall.

"No! No please!" Zoey begged as she was dragged up to the wall. One of the soldiers punched her in the jaw and she stopped struggling.

As an immediate reaction, Francis swore and tried to turn from the wall and run at Zoey;s attackers but the butt of a gun made contact with his ribs and he fell. After a moment, He was yanked to his feet and turned back to face the wall once more.

Nick and Ellis were shoved forward.

"Hey, kid," Nick started. "You know all that shit I said, I was just kidding."

Before Ellis could reply, the con man was forced to stand between Coach and Rochelle. Ellis was forced to stand on the other side of Rochelle.

"Face the wall and keep your arms by your sides, don't try to run either," Miller shouted at the seven at the wall.

People began to crowd around the wall. Men, women, even a few younger teens came to watch. Whispers carried, most people saying good riddance to the carriers.

"Alright, let's get this over with!"

Multiple guns were cocked.

Ellis began to tremble and tears fell down his face. He closed his eyes and sent up a quick prayer. That's when he felt it.

His hand brushed against his slightly bulging pocket. He slipped his hand inside and felt the smooth object. Miller had forgotten to check his pockets when he had been recaptured. A plan began to run through his head as his fingers grazed the cool object.

"Ready!" Miller shouted.

Ellis' hand wrapped around the object. No time to rethink now, he had one shot.

"Aim!"

Adrenaline pumped through his veins. He was going to die anyway, but not without a fight.

"F-"

On impulse, Ellis spun around and let the object fly.

"Eat bile you sons o' bitches!"


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N:** Thanks for all the reviews :) Really means a lot. Sorry if my updates become longer and longer, I've got a lot of graduation stuff going on these next couple of weeks. I will update as soon as I can, Enjoy!

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><p>Staring at the wall, Rochelle got a bad case of Deja Vu. Her stomach knotted up and the lump in her throat made breathing difficult.<br>Miller was yelling but Rochelle couldn't hear what he was saying, her mind refused to process the words.

She turned to her left. Nick stood, facing the wall. His head was down and his fists were clenched. He was muttering to himself over and over again. "I told you so, I told you so, I told you so."

Rochelle turned to her right and saw Ellis. His head was also down and tears streamed down his cheeks. His lips moved in silent prayer.

The woman turned away and looked forward.

"Ready!" Miller yelled.

Rochelle's heart beat against her ribs.

"Aim!"

She was close to sobbing. She had half a mind to reach out and grab Ellis and Nick's hands. But there was no time.

"F-"

"Eat bile you sons o' bitches!"

There was the sound of glass breaking followed by a growing chorus of screams. A few gunshots went off and Rochelle screamed and covered her head. She fell to the ground and saw Nick lying next to her.

Her immediate thought was that he was dead.

"Nick!" she cried out.

He rolled over. "Oh my God!" he hugged her tightly as the screaming continued and a few more shots rang.

Ellis stood above them, another bile jar in his hand.

"Get up! Go!" he yelled.

Rochelle was pulled to her feet and she could see the chaos full on. The green cloud rose and hovered above the spot where the first jar had broken. The bile had managed to cover Miller, his soldiers and a good part of the crowd.

The echoing howl of the horde soon followed.

"We got company!" Francis yelled. He pulled Zoey to her feet, Louis and Coach beside him.

"What do we do now?" Louis yelled over the screams of humans and infected.

"Run!" Ellis yelled.

Dozens of infected began to crawl over the fence, trying to get at the bile and those that were covered with it. The metal chain link started to bend under all the weight.

The survivors turned and ran, vulnerable without any weapons.

Ellis was the only one that didn't move, bile jar still tightly in his fist.

"Ellis!" Rochelle cried, her and Nick stopped running.

The younger man waved his hand. "Go! I got this!" he cried.

"But..."

"Go!"

The first few zombies had made their way over the fence and ran for the nearest humans as they ran around in a panic.

Nick grabbed Rochelle's arm. "C'mon, he knows what he's doing!" he yelled. Rochelle reluctantly followed.

Ellis stared at the fence.

Over the howls of infected and dying people mixed with random gunfire, he could no longer hear it but he knew it was still there.

To his left, a soldier screamed as the infected beat him, his gun long running out of ammo.

Beyond him, a woman in a hazmat suit screamed and fell to her knees. She coughed and gripped her throat at the sight of the bright green acid. Her suit corroded away as more acid dripped from her burning lips.

Without warning, the fence collapsed and a loud battle cry rang out above all the other noises.

Ellis reeled back his arm, the muscles in his back rippling.

"Chase this!" he yelled and threw the bile jar.

The glass broke over the beast's head as it charged. Nearby infected chased after it, forgetting their current victims.

Ellis ran and grabbed the nearest shotgun from one of the mutilated soldiers. He pumped it and aimed as the Charger held up its mutated arm, preparing to charge.

The creature cried out once more and made its way towards the young man. One well placed shotgun shell, along with the damage from other infected, sent the beast to the dirt.

Nearby infected beat on the bile covered body before growing bored and went back to chasing the screaming humans still running around.

Gunshots continued to ring but in a vain effort.

More and more infected flooded through the hole in the fence and chased the panicking humans. Those who were immune were overwhelmed and ripped apart. Those not immune shortly joined the infected in killing those who were left.

The screams were unbearably loud.

"Ellis!" Rochelle cried.

Ellis turned and saw the others had ducked into a nearby building. Nearby infected looked in the direction of the yell before letting out more growls and rushing at the young man. Ellis took off, zombies hot on his tail. He checked the shotgun and saw it was empty, now useless, Ellis tossed the gun aside and kept running.

The door seemed to grow farther and farther away the more Ellis ran and the more zombies joined the chase. He forced his legs to move faster.

Out of breath, Ellis quickly slipped through the door.

"Shut it!" he cried as he landed on the floor, his breath gone.

Nick and Francis slammed the door shut and held it until Louis and Zoey could move a desk in front of it.

"That won't keep 'em out long," Coach said as the door rattled on its hinges.

Nick watched the door for a moment. "It'll hold them out long enough," he said. He bent down and helped Ellis up from the floor. "You're really stupid, kid! Brave, I'll give you that, but really fucking stupid!"

Ellis smiled. "Yer my best friend too, Nick."

Nick patted him on the back.

"Good idea with that bile jar, son, ya really saved our asses," Coach said. He leaned by Rochelle, helping her re-wrap her wound.

Francis snorted. "Next time can you not wait 'til the last minute though, you were calling it kinda close if you ask me."

"Francis, shush," Zoey said. The biker looked at her with both eyebrows raised but she ignored it.

The door continued to rattle, the desk scraped the floor as it moved slightly across the tiles.

"We don't have much time," Nick said.

"What do we do?" Rochelle asked, eyeing the dented and beaten door as it rattled.

Ellis made his way to the other door in the small office. He looked out the window and swore.

"It's blocked off," he said.

"Move it, kid!" Francis shoved Ellis out of the way and rammed his shoulder into the door. He gasped in pain but the door didn't budge. He rammed his shoulder again and again with no luck.

"Try turning the handle there, big guy," Nick said. Francis glared at the con man and scowled.

"Would you like to do the honors?" he stepped from the door and motioned for Nick to try the door.

The door they had come in was starting to fall off its hinges.

"Just someone open the door!" Zoey screamed.

"But-" Francis started.

An arm wiggled its way between the bent door and the frame. The rotten fingers clawed at the walls. Screams could be heard but seemed to have quieted down. The zombie stuck its snarling face into the room.

"Together?" Nick asked.

"Together!"

Francis and Nick both rammed the door.

"Hurry!" Zoey cried as the zombie continued to snarl and wiggle its way inside the room. Her, Rochelle and Louis pushed back on the desk, trying to keep the door shut. Coach and Ellis started to help Nick and Francis with the door.

"We're going as fast as we can, Cupcake," Nick grumbled.

Both doors screeched as they began to open inch by inch.

The zombie now managed to get his arm inside and began swinging at those closest to the door. More were pushing their way in.

"Guys?" Rochelle cried.

"Just a second! Almost got it!" Francis grunted.

"Hell man, what they got in front of this door?" Ellis muttered, shoving on the door with both hands. His shoulder started to sting but he ignored it.

A second infected managed to get its head inside the door, snapping its jaws and dripping blood onto the desk.

The first infected swung his arm and managed to grab a handful of Zoey's hair. She screamed and tried to pry her dark hair from the bloody fingers. The zombie gave a quick yank and her head smashed against the desk. Blood poured into her eyes.

"Louis!" she cried.

The man beside her moved away from the desk and grabbed the hand, freeing her hair.

In the moment he was away, the infected managed to push the door open more, Rochelle not being strong enough to hold the desk in place. Louis and Zoey quickly went back to helping her but it was getting to be too late. The first zombie managed to wiggle almost all the way in. Louis and the two women were losing the battle with the infected.

"Hurry!" Rochelle screamed.

"Let's go!" Coach cried.

Rochelle, Zoey and Louis let go of the desk and sprinted through the barely opened door.

The other door flew open and dozens of zombies flooded the room.

Coach was the last one to exit the room, one of the zombies clawing his arm.

"Ah, shit, close the door!" he cried.

Ellis and Nick slammed the door shut and held it there. The others went about replacing the items that had previously blocked the door. Desks, bookcases and a vending machine.

Once the door was shut, Nick massaged his shoulder. "Damn," he grumbled.

They had entered a hallway. It was long and dark, the only light came from a single flickering fluorescent bulb, trying desperately to stay alive. The other lights had been smashed and a few would occasionally spit a few sparks towards the floor.

"This is creepy," Rochelle commented, moving closer to Nick and Coach.

"Well, all we can do is move forward," Coach said and took a few steps. The others followed suit.

Their footsteps echoed loudly down the dark and silent hallway.

"I feel like I'm walkin' to my death," Ellis said. He sidestepped to avoid a couple of sparks one of the broken bulbs had emitted.

"I know, this is... it's just creepy..." Zoey shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Something's not right," Nick said after a moment. "We should hear screaming or something. And how did that door get blocked and why are all the lights broken? There is no way the zombies got in here that quickly and trashed the place."

"Maybe it was like this before?" Louis offered, fear evident in his voice.

Nick stopped at a door that was partially open. He pushed the door and it opened with a creak.

"No," he said, squinting inside the room. He flipped the switch to find that the lights were broken here too. "This is the room I was in when they were testing shit on me. We walked past it this morning and everything was fine. That office we went through was Sanchez's."

The others were silent.

"So, we're right back where we started? Stuck in this god damn building?" Francis asked.

Nick ran a hand through his hair. "Yup."

"It's ok, we're safe, that's all that matters. We'll find another way out," Rochelle said.

Ellis looked down the dark hall and bit his lip. "Miller's office is just down the hall. We can see if there's a map or somethin' in there," he suggested.

The youngest survivor walked forward slowly, keeping his hand along the wall to guide himself in the dark. Using his sense of touch, he ran his hand along the way until his fingertips touched wood instead of brick. He ran his hands along the door until he found the handle and opened the door.

"It's unlocked," he called. The others made their way towards his voice.

Nick was blinded when he reached the doorway. "Ah! Damn it, Overalls!" he growled.

"Oops, sorry," Ellis said. "I found a flashlight by the way."

Nick blinked away the spots from his eyes. "No shit!"

The beam of light from the flashlight dimmed a bit, a sign of low batteries. Ellis swept it over the big office.

"There's some weapons," he said. "Weird shit to have in an office though." The kid held up a tire iron and a crowbar. An ax lay by his feet.

Nick felt his way to the desk and opened one of the drawers. "Hey, Ellis, can you gimme some light?"

Ellis aimed the light into the drawer and Nick smiled.

Two pistols lay in the bottom of the drawer along with what looked like the floor plan of the building.

Nick grabbed the guns, putting one in his pocket and handing the other one to Coach. Rochelle grabbed the floor plans and spread them out on the desk. Ellis moved the dying flashlight and aimed it at the paper. Rochelle leaned in close to see.

"It looks like there's another exit just down the hall, a fire exit so an alarm may sound," she said.

"Let's do it," Louis said. He gripped the tire iron tightly in his hands.

Zoey looked around. "But, me and Rochelle don't have anything to protect ourselves."

Nick moved past her and went back out into the hallway. "Then stay towards the middle, Me, Ellis and Louis can cover the front, Coach and Francis can watch our asses."

"I still think this is creepy," Rochelle said. She ran her hands down her arms and felt the goosebumps rise as she stepped back into the hallway. "Something doesn't feel right."

"I know," Nick said but motioned for them to move forward.

They moved slowly down the hall until they were met by a soft red glow of an exit sign.

"Must be close," Nick said.

"Shhh!" Ellis shushed him.

Nick turned to him. "What?"

"Shut up! I hear somethin'," he whispered.

Nick raised an eyebrow. "I don't hear any-" A hand silenced him as Ellis slapped it over his mouth and held his mouth closed.

"Shhh!"

All the survivors tensed.

Nick turned and looked at Ellis, hand still over his mouth. He jerked his head back, trying to get his mouth free. The kid took the hint and removed his hand.

"Ya hear it now?" Ellis whispered quietly.

Nick nodded.

The flashlight was clicked off as soft sobs made their way down the hall.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N**: Sorry it's been so long since I last updated, been so busy with Graduation, which is tomorrow :/ ugh, so nervous yet excited. Anyways, sorry once again for the wait and sorry if this chapter is not the best, it's really late and I was desperate to finish it. R&R Enjoy!

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><p>The glow of the exit sign made the pale woman's skin a rich scarlet. Her hair fell into her face as she continued to sob and rock back and forth. Long, bloodied talons scraped the floor every time she leaned forward.<p>

Seven pairs of terrified eyes were trained on her and watched her.

They had been hoping to get around her and slowly moved down the dark hall, holding their breath and praying they wouldn't accidentally step on her.

Things seemed to go in their favor until Ellis rounded the corner and nearly ran into her.

Red eyes burned him as deep growls rattled in her throat.

The kid quickly backed around the corner and stopped the others before they made the same mistake.

"Witch," he mouthed and motioned with his head behind him.

After backtracking a few steps, the growls quieted back into sobs a few moments later. The survivors allowed themselves to breathe again.

"She's right in front of the door, there ain't no way we're getting 'round her," Ellis whispered. The sobs echoed down the hall.

Rochelle groaned in fear and irritation.

Nick sighed in frustration. "Of fucking course."

"Is that the only exit?" Louis asked, his dark eyes darting from one person to the next.

"That we know of, yes," Nick replied.

Francis rolled his shoulder and took the crowbar from his belt. "So, whose gonna do it?" he asked.

"What are you talking about, Francis?" Louis asked.

"Someone has to piss the Witch off," the biker replied.

Ellis looked up at him. "Ya mean like some kinda sacrifice?"

Zoey's eyes grew wide as Francis nodded. "Francis!" she cried a little too loudly.

Everyone froze, not even daring to breathe, as a growl came from down the hall. The growls turned to sobs once again.

"How else are we gonna get around her?" Francis snapped quietly.

Rochelle stepped closer. "Maybe there's a way we can get around her or something," she said.

Ellis tugged her sleeve. "Ro."

The woman swatted him away muttering a quiet "Not now, Ellis.". She pulled out the floorplans she had folded in her pocket. Nick and Francis stood on either side of her, holding the paper. Zoey, Coach and Louis leaned in to see.

Rochelle squinted and tried to see. "Louis, a little light, please," she said as Louis clicked on the dying flashlight.

Ellis tugged her sleeve again. "Ro."

"Well that didn't help much," the woman turned to Ellis. "Knock it off!" she snapped quietly.

"But..."  
>Nick leaned close to the floor plans, his nose almost touching the paper. "There might be another exit if we pretty much backtrack the entire way we came, it's hard to tell in this light though," he muttered as the flashlight died.<p>

Rochelle looked up at the broken and sparking lights. "Why are all the lights broken anyway? That witch couldn't have done it."

Calloused hands gripped her shoulders and spun her around.

"Ellis!" she cried.

The kid slapped a hand over her mouth and pointed forward.

"That's why," he whispered so quietly Rochelle barely heard him.

When she saw what was ahead, her chocolate eyes grew wide and she almost peed her pants in fright.

Ahead was a huge hulking shape taking up the entire hallway. It snorted and growled quietly to itself. Its massive shoulders scraped against the low ceiling. A giant fist rose up and punched the last flickering light. The bulb shattered and sparks rained down on the beast.

By that time, the others had seen it and frozen as well.

The Tank took a few steps forward and continued to snort. Its tiny eyes were unable to see the survivors a few feet in front of it in the poor lighting.

Rochelle could feel Ellis shaking slightly as the beast took another step closer. Her mind screaming, praying that the Tank didn't come any closer and that everyone would remain quiet.

Then, Zoey sneezed.

A loud roar shook the entire building as the Tank raised its fists and punched the ceiling before charging.

"RUN!" Coach yelled.

With only one way to go, the survivors turned tail and ran to the exit.

Louis reached it first and dove over the pale woman as she began to growl. He opened the door and a loud siren sounded. Howls of an oncoming horde came a moment later.

"We are so fucking screwed!" Zoey yelled as she ran out the door.

The Witch's growls became loud shrieks as the others ran past her.

Ellis swung and hit the Witch with the broad side of his ax, causing her to stumble long enough for the last few survivors to get through the door.

Infected rushed to the source of the noise, growling and snarling.

Shrieks from the Witch grew louder as she ran out the door and made a beeline for the nearest survivor.

The ground shook violently and brick and metal crumbled and twisted as the Tank tried to make his way through the door.

Louis and Francis swung their weapons desperately as the horde surrounded them. Metal hitting bone and blood splattering their clothes and faces.

Coach and Nick shot at the Witch as she chased Ellis in circles. The young man held onto his ax, not daring to slow down or look back.

Rochelle and Zoey stood back to back, defenseless and vulnerable.

There came a growl as the Tank finally made its way out of the door. It snorted and growled in pure rage. Luminous yellow eyes locked on the two weakest members of the group. Huge fists pounded the ground.

Both women screamed and took off.

The Tank didn't hesitate to charge after them, loving the chase.

"HELP!" Rochelle screamed as she began to fall behind Zoey, her leg burning.

"Rochelle!" Nick cried, turning away from the Witch and chasing the Tank, emptying an entire clip into the beast.

"I'm down!" Louis cried as there was a shriek and a hooded figure pinned him to the ground.

"A little help over here!" Ellis cried as he tripped and the Witch caught up to him. He held up his ax and tried to keep the screaming woman at bay.

"Spitter goo!" Coach called out before dodging the toxic green acid and joined Nick in taking down the Tank.

Ellis screamed as the acid burned him.

More zombies flooded the area as the siren continued to blare.

"Someone turn that shit off!" Coach yelled.

"Nooo!" Francis wailed as a tongue wrapped around his waist, pulling him away from Louis as the infected beat him to the ground.

Nick stopped running and shooting. He spun around. The scene before him seemed to slow to a stop as his heartbeat pounded in his ears, desperate for a plan.

The Tank continued to chase the two girls, Coach following and shooting. With a scream, Zoey flew through the air and landed next to Louis who had managed to kill the Hunter but was still fighting against the common infected that surrounded him. Francis tugged at the tongue around his waist and throat, unable to get free. Ellis lay on his back, the ax in his hands, trying to push the screaming infected off of him, a bile jar halfway hidden in his pocket. Nick saw the opportunity and took off.

"Nick!" Coach cried, still chasing the Tank.

The con man ignored him and ran over to the youngest member.

"Help!" Ellis cried, the strength in his arms fading as he continued to try and block the Witch's swings.

"Dumb bitch!" Nick punched the Witch full in the face and she shrieked but stumbled off Ellis. He grabbed the jar from the kid's pocket. "I need this, thanks."

Glass shattered as he cracked the jar over the Witch's head.

The pale girl shrieked as the green fluid rained down on her. Her neck cracked as she whipped her head to lock glowing eyes on her new target.

Nick took off running at full speed.

The Witch ran after him, claws out in front of her, ready to grab her prey.

Smelling the fresh puke, the infected surrounding Louis, ran after the bile covered woman and began to beat on her, slowing her down slightly. The Witch swung at the weaker infected and shrieked, frustrated.

Nick fired and the Smoker holding Francis exploded into a cloud of green smoke. The biker fell to the ground, gasping for breath.

The rest of the fence collapsed as more infected poured in, drawn to the blaring siren and smelly bile.

Nick ran towards the building they just exited. Outside the door was a gray box. A fuse box. Two shots later, the siren went silent, the only sound were the screams of his fellow survivors and the infected.  
>"Nick!" someone yelled.<br>The con man instinctively turned around, hearing his name being called. His dress shoes slipped in the growing pool of blood on the pavement and he fell. The crack his head made when it hit the pavement was deafening as the world went dark and the sounds around him quieted, the only thing he was aware of was the loud ringing in his ears.  
>A moment later came the burning. Sharp burns ripped across his chest. Someone was screaming, loudly, painfully. The burning intensified and he couldn't help but cry out and shoot randomly. A loud feminine scream sounded close by and Nick prayed he hadn't hit Rochelle or Zoey with a stray bullet.<p>

His vision returned a moment later, just in time to see the pale woman above him collapse and another figure to take her place.

"Nick! You alright? Man, I'm so sorry. Nick, say sumthin'!"

Nick took in a sharp inhale, the pain in his chest unbearable. "Something," he muttered.

Ellis blinked, confused for a moment. "Man, that ain't funny," he said, his hand gripping his side tightly.

Nick closed his eyes, his breathing shallow. "I thought it was."

The Tank's growls had grown quieter along with the yells of the others.

"Can ya get up?" Ellis asked.

The man in the suit gave a quick, painful, chuckle. "Not at the moment, Killer."

"Man, she really sliced ya up, ya need a medkit or sumthin'," Ellis said.

Nick opened his eyes and they went to the woman beside him, her eyes opened wide and her mouth frozen in a silent scream.

"And she wondered why I wanted a divorce, dumb bitch," he muttered.

Ellis looked at him confused. "What?"

Taking a deep breath, Nick forced himself into a sitting position, swatting Ellis away when he tried to help. "Ellis, meet Rachael."

The kid turned and looked at the dead Witch with wide eyes. "That's Rachael?" he asked.

Nick nodded and bit his lip as he tried to get up on his feet. His legs gave out and he fell. Ellis caught him and eased him back to the pavement.

" Immune my ass," the con man growled and kicked the pale body farther away from him.

The southerner next to him gripped his side and took deep breaths.

The growls from the Tank died off, leaving the two in silence.

Nick looked up at Ellis. "Where are the others?" he asked, hissing in pain.

The kid shook his head and slumped a little lower. "I don't know. After ya got that Witch off me, I ran after ya. The others chased the Tank somewhere else. I didn't' see where though."

Nick glanced at where Ellis' hand was gripping his side and saw blood drip between his fingers.

"What happened?"

"Nothin'," Ellis muttered, his blue eyes scanning what was left of the camp, searching for any sign of life.

Nick gave the area a quick scan before sighing and wincing. "I don't see them."

Without a word, Ellis grabbed his ax and ran off. He didn't go too far from Nick, always glancing back to check on him. After a few minutes of searching and finding nothing, Ellis tucked the ax under his arm and cupped his hands around his mouth.

"ROCHELLE! COACH! ZOEY! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS? FRANCIS? LOUIS? ANYONE THERE?"

The only reply the kid got were a few snarls as a few leftover infected ran out of a building. Ellis gripped the ax and killed all three in one swing.

He looked around one last time, before his shoulders slumped and he trudged back to where Nick lay.

"They ain't here," Ellis muttered quietly.

"I guess it's just you and me now, Overalls," Nick said.

Ellis nodded, gripping his side once more and looking at his only companion. "What are we gonna do now, Nick?" he asked.

Using the kid's shoulder as a brace, Nick forced himself to his feet, wincing and gasping in pain the whole way. Once on his feet, he swayed and almost fell. Ellis caught him and put Nick's arm around his shoulders so the con man could lean on him for support.

"Right now, let's find some supplies and a safe place to sleep and we'll go from there, sound like a plan, Killer?" Nick asked.

Ellis just nodded.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N**: Thanks for the reviews :) Graduation went well but it still doesn't feel real, just like some long dream that I haven't woken up from yet. Anyway, I digress. Had a hard time with this chapter, got stuck in more than a few spots and have probably rewritten it three times, this version is the one I was happiest with, let me know what you think, Enjoy!

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><p>The once high security base was now reduced to ruins like the rest of the country. Infected wandered around aimlessly, not sure what to do next. Everyone that had occupied the base was either infected as well or dead.<p>

Fires had started throughout the buildings that peppered the base and black smoke curled into the darkening sky. The fence lay in a twisted mess around the base.

Bodies, what was left of them, littered the ground between the buildings, occasionally being beat at by a bored infected.

Nick and Ellis managed to sneak out around the back of the base without drawing attention to themselves.

Due to his injuries, Nick was unable to walk on his own and was using Ellis as a crutch despite his protests.

Ellis held up the older man with one arm and carried their only weapon, an ax, in his other hand. His face was red and sweat ran down his face in thick rivers. His breathing was labored and raspy. He would occasionally stumble and drop the con man, gripping his side and hissing loudly in pain.

Nick gripped his own injuries, trying to keep the blood inside his body. The wounds the Witch had given tried to close but everytime Ellis dropped him, they would reopen and more blood would stain the pale blue shirt he wore.

Ellis dropped him again. Nick hit the ground hard, stars jumping in front of his vision as the burning in his chest made him shut his eyes and bite his lip until he tasted iron and blood ran down his chin.

The kid fell beside him in the brush. Both hands gripping his side, his face twisted in pain.

"I don't ever remember it being this hard," Ellis gasped after a moment. His pale eyes looked up at the man in the suit beside him, his pain evident in their depths.

Nick blinked away the stars from his vision and looked up at the dark clouds rolling in. "It's only gonna get worse, kid," he muttered.

They had been walking for nearly two hours and had only managed to cover a little over two miles. With no sign of the others or a safe house, any motivation to keep moving was fading.

Ellis gripped the ax and used it to lift himself back up. "We gotta keep movin'," he grumbled, swaying once he got to his feet again. He extended a shaky hand down to his friend.

Nick grabbed it and used a nearby tree to pull himself back up. More stars danced in front of Nick's eyes as his head began to pound fiercely. He leaned on the tree and took deep breaths, trying to stay conscious.

After a few moments, when Nick's vision didn't return he sighed. "Maybe this is it, kid. I don't think I can go any further," he said, gasping.

He could hear Ellis move in the dead leaves that covered the forest floor. By the sound, Ellis was standing in front of him. He imagined the kid's face, worn and pale but his eyes still holding a glint of hope.

"I ain't leavin' ya here," he said.

Nick gave a quick chuckle. "I knew you were gonna say that." A loud crack of thunder made both men jump and gasp in pain from the sudden movement.

Something poked Nick's leg and he cried out. A moment later, he felt his body fill with renewed energy as his vision returned.

Ellis tossed the empty adrenaline shot aside and grabbed Nick's arm and slung it back over his shoulders.

"That was our last one," Nick said.

Ellis shrugged under the weight of the older man. "I told ya, I ain't leavin' ya here."

Nick looked over at him. "You're really dumb, Overalls."

"Yeah, I know," a hint of a smile tugged at the kid's mouth as he took the first step forward and held onto Nick for dear life, determined to not drop him again.

A light rain started to fall as the two slowly made their way along. The trees overhead blocked most of the rain, keeping them relatively dry.

"It's been a long time since I felt this bad," Nick grumbled as the adrenaline started to wear off and he went back to dragging his feet again.

Ellis just let out a grunt and adjusted the weight on his shoulders. His boot caught an upraised root and he stumbled. Swearing loudly, he gripped Nick, determined to not drop him as the con man gripped his torn chest and tried to stay on his feet.

"God damn it!" Nick grumbled as Ellis got his footing and struggled to hold the older man up.

"Nick, I ever tell ya how heavy ya are?" Ellis asked. Dropping his ax, he used both arms to reposition the arm around his shoulders. Once he was sure Nick wasn't going to fall, he tried to bend down and pick up his ax and found he couldn't without letting Nick drop to the ground.

"Ah fuck..." he sighed.

The rain started to come down heavier and the wind started to pick up.

Ellis tried to pick up his fallen ax while trying to keep Nick upright. With every failed attempt, he would let out a hiss of pain and a groan of frustration.

"Ellis..."

"I ain't leavin' ya here!" Ellis snapped.

Nick rolled his eyes. "I was gonna suggest having me lean against a tree but if you want to struggle this way, that works too."

The younger man looked at him, holding onto his hat as a strong gust of wind beat against them and threatened to take the worn hat with it.

Exhaustion was etched all over the kid's face as he processed what Nick had said. After a moment, he sighed and leaned Nick against a nearby tree before bending down and picking up his ax in his tired arms.

Nick closed his eyes and rested his head against the rough bark of the tree.

"Ya know what I don't understand? If there was that many zombies around the base, how come we haven't run into any yet?" Ellis asked, leaning against another tree, holding his side.

Nick didn't open his eyes. "The alarm drew them all to the base, that's my guess anyway," he said, his voice low with pain and exhaustion.

A blinding streak of lightning snaked across the almost black sky followed by a low growl of thunder.

"We should keep movin'. I don't wanna be around these tree durin' a lightin' storm," Ellis muttered, pushing himself off the tree and making his way over to Nick.

The older man grumbled, not wanting to move. Every time he moved, the pain would become unbearable, if he stood still, it was at least somewhat tolerable.

More lightning lit up the forest and there was the sound of wood splintering and a loud crash as a tree fell close by.

"That was too close for me," Nick commented and let Ellis support his weight once more.

Ellis looked up at the dark sky as the thunder rumbled and made the ground shake. He started walking in a random direction, praying it wasn't the way they had just come. The rain grew even heavier, making travel difficult. The cold water was driven sideways by the wind, thoroughly soaking the two lonely survivors.

"Hey, Nick, remember the last time we was in a storm this bad?" Ellis yelled over the wind.

"Don't remind me!" Nick yelled back.

The two men felt blindly in front of them for holes, tangles and trees, whatever they might run into.

"I can't see worth shit!" Ellis yelled.

Nick squinted against the rain and shivered as the cold water poured down his back. "Is that light over there?" he asked.

"Where?" Ellis called and spun around a little too quickly.

In the slick mud, his boots slid out from under the younger man and he fell hard, crying out. Nick hit the ground a second later but he didn't stop moving.

Ellis had stopped at the top of a steep hill and not realized it in the darkness. When he had turned, trying to locate the source of light, his boot had slid in the mud and sent both men sliding down the muddy slope.

Nick reached out and tried to grab something to stop himself as he slid down the hill. He grabbed at a few roots but they either broke or his grip wasn't strong enough to keep a hold on them long. His hands were raw by the time he finally hit the bottom with a loud splash.

Water submerged Nick and the cold water filled his lungs. Panic gripping his chest, the con man began to flail until his head broke the surface. His chest burned as he began to cough and retch up the water in his lungs.

"Ellis!" he yelled out desperately as he felt himself moving in the current of the water. Lightning flashed giving Nick a quick glimpse at a shore nearby. Not having enough energy to swim against the water, he let the current carry him a little further downstream until he could reach shore.

Using what little strength he had left, he gripped the mud and pulled his soaked and injured body on shore. He collapsed in the muck and panted, trying to catch his breath, not caring for once about the mud he was lying in.

Lightning became more frequent and the thunder became more deafening.

"Ellis!" he yelled again, weaker this time. His body throbbed and his legs had grown numb from the chilling water.

No reply came from the younger man.

Nick shivered violently and forced himself to crawl further from the water and into the cover of some bushes close by.

The forest was lit up by the almost constant lightning. Small animals scurried about, trying to find shelter. A few dead bodies of infected floated down the river Nick had fallen into. Green eyes careful watched every body that floated past, breathing a quick sigh of relief when he didn't recognize any of them.

He slumped forward, exhaustion starting to claim him. Pain radiated up and down his body as he tried to get comfortable. Sleeping out in the open was extremely risky but he had no choice. His lids grew heavy and he was asleep before his head even hit the mud.

###

Thunder broke his consciousness but he didn't open his eyes. He just let out a quiet groan and adjusted, trying to get comfortable. Something soft brushed his cheek and he became aware of the warmth that surrounded him.

Something moved close by and swore quietly.

Nick's eyebrows twitched as he tried to open his eyes but found they were too heavy.

"Ah, hell..." a voice quietly said from his left.

"Huh?" Nick managed to grumble groggily. He forced his eyes open and blinked a few times, trying to focus them.

He was greeted by an old oil lamp burning and giving off the only light, beyond that was a concrete wall with various handwritings and scribbles.

The soft thing he felt earlier was an old, musty pillow and the warmth was a wool blanket, smelling just as musty.

Confused and disoriented, he lifted himself up and braced for the wave of pain but it never came. He looked down and saw his coat and shirt had been removed and thick bandages were wrapped around his chest.

"Ow..." the voice said again and Nick looked to its source and couldn't help but smile slightly in relief.

Ellis sat by his feet and was inching the stained Bull Shifters shirt off his body. Every once and awhile, he would pause and take a breath before starting to remove it again. Once it was off, he tossed it aside.

Nick winced when he saw what earlier Ellis had called 'nothing'.

A huge burn ran from between his shoulder blades down his back and wrapped around to his side. Majority of the burn was red and blistered, in a few places the skin was blackened and the smell of burnt flesh made Nick want to gag.

Ellis didn't notice that Nick had awoken and grabbed a red bag and dug through it. He grabbed a small white tube and squeezed the entire thing into his hand and began to rub in on the burn where he could reach. With every touch, he would hiss.

"Fucking Spitter..." he grumbled.

"That looks pretty nasty," Nick said as Ellis grabbed some gauze and began to cover the burn.

The kid jumped in surprise and turned to look at him. His face twisted in pain at the movement. "Ya got no idea," he mumbled.

Nick nodded and looked around the tiny room as Ellis went back to patching himself up.

"Where are we?" he asked.

Ellis cut the gauze and taped it down and threw what was left back into the medkit. "Some safe house ya decided ta pass out in front of," he replied.

"What?" Nick looked at him.

Ellis zipped up the small red bag. "Yeah, after we fell down that hill, you fell in the water and I couldn't find ya. I had to a' walked fer at least an hour til I found ya under them bushes. That there lamp was lit and that was what ya saw before we fell. Well, come ta find out, ya passed out right outside the door."

Nick raised an eyebrow and looked at the younger man as he tossed what was left of the medkit over by the others.

"I dragged ya in here and stitched ya up and gave ya some pills, you've been out fer a few hours at least," Ellis went on.

Nick fell back onto his pillow, a slight shock of pain causing him to inhale sharply. He closed his eyes, thankful pain pills had been invented before this whole mess happened.

"I didn't find the others," Ellis muttered, answering the question Nick wasn't sure he wanted to ask.

Nick rolled onto his side, eyes still closed. "I'd be really surprised if we did find them, kid," he replied quietly.

"Don't say that," Ellis said. His voice shook slightly.

Nick looked at him. The kid's facial expression was angry but his eyes showed the fear and remorse he was trying to hide.

"I'll search the whole damn country ta find 'em if I have to," Ellis said in a colder tone.

"Ok, so let's say you search the whole damn country, risking your life, just to find their dead bodies, then what?" Nick snapped.

Ellis glared at him and narrowed his eyes. He stood up and grabbed a shotgun he had found in the saferoom.

"At least I could say I tried."

Nick blinked at the kid's harsh tone but said nothing as he walked over to the red steel door to keep watch.

The con man sighed and ran his hands through his dark hair. Ellis had always come across as the immature kid that never took anything serious. That is, until it came tothe safety of his 'family'. The last time Nick saw Ellis like this was when Coach was clinging to life after a run in with a Witch back in Virgil's boat after escaping the Sugar Mill. His usually goofy side had been replaced by the serious Ellis that Nick was dealing with now.

He watched Ellis stare out the slots in the door, blue eyes scanning and looking for nay sign of life.  
>Nick sighed. He cared about the other survivors more than he would like to admit and he respected Ellis willing to do anything to find them, but at the same time he saw it as stupid and irrational to look for something he was never going to find, or at least in the state he wanted to find them.<p>

The kid's eyes started to close and he leaned against the door, his breathing slowing.

"Maybe you should get some sleep, kid," Nick suggested.

Ellis opened his eyes and continued to look out the door but otherwise didn't move. "I'm fine, Nick," he said.

Before Nick could argue, his own eyes slid shut and everything else faded away.

###

Ellis wasn't sure how long he was out before a loud sound caused him to jolt awake. He looked around through sleep filled eyes.

He had fallen to the floor and fell asleep in front of the door. Nick still lay in his corner of the room, fast asleep.

At first Ellis thought he had imagined the noise until he heard it again but his tired mind refused to process what it was.

Nick had apparently heard it too for he grunted and sat up, eyes squinted from sleep.

"Ellis, knock it off," he grumbled.

"It ain't me!" Ellis protested.

Before either man could get up and move, the safe room door began to shake violently. There was a loud pounding followed by pleading screams.

"Someone! Let me in! Please!"


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N**: Sorry if this took so long, been working as much as I can so I can start looking at apartments and such and moving out. I will try to update sooner for the next chapter. Anyway, here's the next chapter, Enjoy!

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><p>"Please! Anyone! Help me!"<p>

The voice became more desperate with each tug on the door and each word that it cried out.

Ellis jumped up and yanked the bar from the door and opened it.

A figure dove inside and crashed to the middle of the room in a quivering heap.

The door was slammed shut just in time for Ellis to be greeted by bloodied talons reaching through the shooting grill followed by loud shrieks.

Pain engulfed the kid's face as he reached blindly for his dropped shotgun. The Witch screeched and swung wildly as Ellis planted four slugs in her before she went down.

Nick made his way over to the shivering figure on the floor and rolled her onto her back.

"Shit..." he ran a hand through his hair. He brushed some of her dark hair out of the figures face to find it stiff and crusty with God knew what.

Her eyes were closed and she didn't move other than the shivers. Her clothing was torn and soaked thoroughly. On her forehead, just shy of her temple was a huge gash that pumped more blood down her face with every heartbeat.

"Shit, Zoey..." Nick looked up to where Ellis was crouched in front of the door. "Ellis! Toss me one of those kits will you?"

The kid kept one hand to his face and slid a medkit across the floor with the other.

Nick grabbed it and ripped it open.

"Aw hell, Zoey," Ellis groaned and made his way over to the two.

Nick put pressure on the wound on her forehead. "She hit her head, looks pretty bad, " he said, wiping more blood from the woman's face.

"Not ta mention she outran one of them crying girls... shit..." Ellis removed his hand from his face and saw his hand had turned red.

"The hell happened to you?" Nick asked.

"Witch got me through the door..." Ellis muttered.

Nick finished dressing Zoey's wound before turning to the kid. Ellis lowered his hand and Nick let out a long, low whistle. "Tell you what, Overalls, you are one lucky fucker, another few centimeters to the left and she woulda taken your eye."

Ellis wiped the blood that dripped into his eyes and looked up at Nick. "It's that bad?" he asked.

Nick shrugged and tossed the half a medkit at him. "Not really, it's not too deep but it don't look too pretty. Best get it cleaned up though."

The kid started to clean his face. "Why is it always me?" he muttered quietly to himself.

Nick didn't say anything and turned his attention back to the unconscious young woman who lay beside him.

Her chest rose and fell at a slow steady rate and her shivering had pretty much stopped.

The con man leaned over her, looking her over. "Where are the others and why were you alone?" he asked Zoey quietly. She didn't move.

"Is she alright?" Ellis asked, looking over at her.

All Nick could do was shrug. "She's alive."

The southerner frowned and looked the college girl over again before going back to cleaning his wound. "This would be so much easier if there was a mirror," he grumbled. Without bothering with bandages, he tossed the kit aside and looked over the young woman.

"Why she alone, what happened to the others?" the kid asked.

"I don't know."

Both men sat and watched Zoey breathe quietly, still not sure if she was real or not. Silence hung thick in the air for the longest time.

Ellis was the first to speak. "Ya think she's gonna be ok?" he asked the older man.

Nick shrugged. "I don't know, she's probably got a concussion at the very least. Hopefully she doesn't slip into a coma or something like that."

The younger of the two looked up with wide eyes. "A coma? Ya think she might be in a coma or sumthin'? What if she was? Then what?" Fear was evident in his voice.

"Calm down, Ellis, she's probably just sleeping," Nick replied. He looked at the kid. The fear drained from his face as soon as Nick stopped talking as exhaustion settled in. Ellis was struggling to keep his eyes open and he swayed back and forth, threatening to fall over onto his side. His elbow that was holding him up was slowly giving way and bringing his torso closer and closer to the floor.

"Looks like you could use some sleep too. I can keep watch for a while," Nick said.

Ellis' head hit the floor and his eyes closed. "Ah can keep watch, Ah jus' need ta close mah eyes fer a minute..." his words drifted off as his accent got progressively thicker. Moments later, soft snores came from the exhausted Southerner.

Nick shook his head and got to his feet with a grunt. His chest began to burn and he dry swallowed a small handful of pills before reloading the only gun in the room.

They were low on ammo.

"That figures," Nick grumbled. His stomach growled painfully. A quick scan of the room showed that the safe house had been picked clean, not a single morsel of food could be found.

"Of course," Nick rolled his eyes and stood at the door, his eyes scanning for any sign of human life, or infected.

The only movement was the soft swaying of the leaves in the breeze left over from the storm. Occasionally, the clouds in the distance would flash and a soft rumble of thunder could be heard.

Nick gripped the gun tightly and tried to hold it up at the ready in case he would need it but it was proving to be more difficult than he thought. His chest burned and throbbed with every movement. After a moment of struggle, the con man gave up and held the gun in his hand at his side. If there was trouble, Ellis was within kicking distance.

Something moved just outside the door.

Nick tensed, trying to lift the gun again despite his recent wounds.

In the little light that filtered through slots in the door, the bushes he had passed out beneath were barely visible. A soft breeze rustled the vegetation around the tiny building. Green eyes narrowed when the bush moved more than everything else around it. They narrowed more when the bush continued to rustle after the breeze died down.

His first instincts were to open fire on the bush and kill whatever threat could be hiding just beyond it. He managed to lift the gun and stick the barrel into one of the slots to help support it. Finger on the trigger, he waited for a clear shot.

The bush stopped moving but nothing came wandering out from behind it.

Nick froze and moved his finger away from the trigger, not daring to shoot. He had no way of telling if the thing was infected or human.

The gun clattered to the floor as Nick lost his grip. Ellis mumbled something in his sleep and rolled over.

Nick didn't dare breathe, not wanting to wake and alarm the kid.

After a moment, the kid's breathing slowed and his snores continued once more.

Zoey didn't seemed phased by the noise. Nick wasn't even sure if she was still breathing.

He bent down to pick up the gun and found the pills were finally taking effect. the burning in his chest started to numb as his body grew heavy and his eyelids began to slide close.

The bush outside rustled again and Nick was tempted to run outside and see what the hell it was but he found himself sliding closer and closer to the floor. A loud yawn escaped his body as his eyes closed and his body hit the floor.

The bush could wait until tomorrow.

###

There were voices, two of them to be exact. Both sounded male but it was hard to tell.

She felt like she was floating and sinking at the same time. She tried to move her body but found that her body had disconnected itself from her.

The voices grew louder, one sounded deeper and more level, the other sounded higher and strange, she couldn't place why.

Desperate to find out what it was, she tried to open her eyes and find the source of the voices but found she couldn't. She tried to call out but only a low moan escaped her lips.

The strange voice called to the deeper one in an excited manner. It grew loud quickly.

Her body reconnected with her as it was moved. Pain ran down her entire spine and back up and she wished it would disconnect again.

Again, all she could do was let out a soft moan.

"Ni- Ah- wake- -p" she could only catch fragments of what the weird voice was saying.

She tried again to open her eyes and found she could just flutter them a bit but not open them.

Something soft and gentle brushed her forehead and moved the hair out of her face that she hadn't noticed before.

"Is she awake?" came the deeper voice. She could understand him but he sounded far away.

"Think she's startin' ta," the weird voice said.

Sick of being blind, she let out another groan and forced her stubborn eyes open and hissed against the light that burned her retinas. She closed her eyes again, watching the green and blues dots dance on the back of her eyelids.

"Zoey?" the higher voice muttered.

She let out another groan and opened her eyes again, this time slower.

The first thing she saw was a worried pair of breathtaking blue eyes. The next thing she saw was the angry red cut that started at the inner corner of one eyebrow, ran over the bridge of the nose and stopped just under the opposite eye. Brown curls fell into the person's eyes when he removed his hat. His lips were pulled into a worried frown. Even with the cut on his face and the worried expression, he was still cute.

"Ya alright?" he asked. Realization hit her when she heard him speak, his voice had sounded weird because of his accent.

Another face appeared next to the first one.

This one was colder than the first. Thick, dark hair was sticking up everywhere as if he had been running his hands through it a lot. Thick scruff covered his face but the frown was still visible. Gray-green eyes pierced her.

"Hey, can you hear me?" he said.

She blinked, not realizing that either man had spoken. She shook her head and regretted the decision. Skull splitting pain made her eyes water.

"Sorry," she muttered hoarsely.

"Shit, girl, we thought you was a goner! Ya hadn't moved since I let ya in. Me and Nick were starting to fear the worse," the younger of the two said with a smile of relief.

She blinked and tried to will the pain away. The room was spinning as she tried to recollect what had happened the previous night.

"Where are the others?" she was asked.

"Huh?" she looked at at the man holding her in his arms

There came a sigh from behind him. "Where are the others?" Nick asked, sounding annoyed.

All she could do was blink and look at them.

"Ya sure you're ok, Zoey?" the kid asked her.

She looked from his kind blue eyes to Nick's piercing green ones. "Yeah, but... who are you?"


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N**: Thanks for the reviews :) Short chapter that I didn't really know how to end, kinda got ahead of myself and started writing the next chapter without finishing this one x.x so sorry if the ending sucks, anyway, let me know what you think, Enjoy!

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><p>The only sound in the safe room was the scuffing of white dress shoes on concrete.<p>

Ellis stood watch at the door, watching the older man pace back and forth across the length of the saferoom.

Zoey sat in the back corner, her legs pulled to her chest. She watched Nick fearfully, praying he wouldn't yell at her again.

As soon as she asked who the two men were, Nick had blown up at her.

Ellis had looked down at her. "Ya don't recognize us?" he asked sadly.

Zoey could only shake her head as Nick snapped and began to yell. "Just fucking perfect! Just real fucking perfect! How the hell did you even hit your head? Just fucking perfect!" Nick went on for another few minutes of yelling and kicking stuff across the room.

Ellis tightened his arms around the shivering college girl. "Nick, calm down," he muttered. Nick glared at him before turning on the poor kid, lashing out on him, yelling until he gripped his chest in pain and collapsed to the floor.

Once Ellis got some pain pills down the older man's throat, Nick had gone silent and went to pacing the room, not looking at either of his companions. Both of the younger survivors remained silent and out of the way.

"I'm going for a walk," Nick said after a moment and pushed past Ellis to leave the room. He paced just outside the door for a moment before checking behind the bush again.

As soon as he had awoken, he had ran outside to see what was behind the bush to find nothing there. He had been re-checking every hour or so just to make sure.

Ellis watched the man in the suit dig in the bushes before going back to pacing. He frowned.

Zoey sneezed from where he sat.

"Bless you," Ellis said, turning to look at her.

Zoey tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thanks."

The southerner sighed and walked over and sat next to her.

"Don't worry 'bout him, he gets like that sometimes," the kid said. Zoey just nodded but remained silent. Ellis watched her. "Ya really don't remember anything?" he asked.

The college student sighed. "Not really, just some pieces here and there. Most are about some older guy. I think he's dead now, and there was something about a jail or prison... I don't know..." Zoey buried her head in her knees.

Ellis gently rubbed her back. "Ya probably just got that amnesia thing, ya know? Shit, my buddy Keith got that so many times. Son of a bitch thought he'd try bungee jumping off the town bridge so he got some bungee rope and tied it around his ankles and jumped. People thought he was commitin' suicide or something so the police showed up and shit. Well, Keith didn't measure the rope and so it was too long and he hit the ground and was in a coma fer weeks and when he came to, that son of a bitch couldn't remember his name. His memory eventually came back but..." the kid's voice died as he sighed.

Zoey looked at him and narrowed her eyes. "What did you say his name was?" she asked.

Ellis looked at her. "Keith."

The girl's face suddenly lit up. "I remember something about Keith stories! I was talking to someone and they were talking about how they were sick of all the crazy Keith stories. I guess they were talking about you."

Ellis just gave a weak smile. "Yeah..."

The door banged open and Nick came back in, shotgun in one hand and something black in the other.

"Find anything?" Ellis asked.

Nick set the gun down and leaned it against the wall. He tossed the black thing to Zoey. It landed in her lap and she gingerly picked it up and looked it over.

"You recognize that?" Nick asked.

The object was a leather glove without the fingers. parts were worn away and the creases where the fingers had bent repeatedly were almost white. The glove was stiff and smelled of sweat and bile.

Zoey studied it for a moment.

She was suddenly back outside, the wind was blowing, rain pelting against her. The sky was black and she couldn't see anything but the figure beside her. He was tall and well built. His arms were covered in ink and he held a shotgun in his hands. Black leather gloves covered both his hands.

"Stick together!" he yelled in a deep voice.

Zoey stuck close to him, feeling safe.

Lightning flashed. There was a loud crack of thunder followed by splintering wood.

"Look out!"

She was shoved to the dirt as a monstrous tree fell where she had just been standing. The lightning became more frequent and she watched as the tree slid down a steep hill and crashed into the river below.

"Help!" came the deep voice of the man she had been with.

Crawling in the slick mud, she made her way to the sound of his voice.

Both of his hands gripped a root as he tried to prevent himself from falling. Someone else was yelling close by but it was hard to tell who.

"I got you! Hold on!" Zoey cried as she grabbed one of the man's wrists.

The rain was making his skin and the leather slippery and she tried to keep a hold and pull him to safety. She dug her fingers under the bottom of the glove, hoping it would help her get a better grip.

"Zoey!" the man cried. "Behind you!"

The college girl turned around just in time to see a bigger figure sliding towards her. She cried out and ducked out of the way as the figure slid past, yelling the whole way down.

"Coach!" the tattooed man yelled. His grip on the root failed. "Shit!"

His hand slid out of the glove and he slid down the slope, disappearing into the darkness.

"FRANCIS!"

"Hey! Ya still there?"

Zoey blinked as a hand was waved in front of her face.

"Ya ok?" Ellis asked.

Zoey stared down at the glove in her hand. "Francis..." was all she could mutter.

Nick kneeled in front of her, his face serious and hard. "What about Francis?" he asked.

The girl looked up at the two men looking at her. "I was with him, and it was raining. A tree fell and he shoved me out of the way. He started to slide down some hill and I tried to pull him back up but I couldn't..." she muttered.

The con man in front of her narrowed his eyes. "Remember anything else?" he asked.

Zoey bit her lip. "There was someone else there, I don't remember his name." She looked up at the two men. "Does the word Coach ring any bells?"

"Coach?" Ellis asked. "Coach was with you?"

Nick stood up, holding his chest. He looked at the red saferoom door for a while without saying a word. He chewed the inside of his cheek, deep in thought.

"That's it then," he said after a long moment of silence.

"What's what?" Ellis asked, not liking the tone or the look on the older man's face.

Nick's eyes didn't leave the door as he walked over and scooped up the shotgun from where he had set it moments before.

"We're going out there to look for them," he said.

Ellis quickly stood up. "C'mon, Nick, ya ain't suit to fight, neither is Zoey," he said.

Nick looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Since when had that slowed us down before? And weren't you the one that told me you'd search the whole damn country to find them? Don't tell me that being locked in that base made you soft."

"No!" Ellis cried.

"Well then," Nick tossed the kid the shotgun in his hand. Ellis caught it and looked at it before looking back up at Nick. "I think the zombies missed you, Killer."

A devilish grin spread across the kid's face for the first time since getting rescued. He pumped the shotgun. "Kill all sons o' bitches."


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N**: Holy crap! it's been a long time since I've updated, many apologies, I've just been so busy with life after High School, it's crazy! Anyway, thanks for the reviews :) 99, that's almost 100! Here's ch 26, enjoy!

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><p>"You sure you know what you're doing?" Zoey asked the man in the suit beside her.<p>

Nick shielded his eyes from the bright sun reflecting off the river as he looked around. "Nope," he replied.

Ellis ran ahead, disappearing in the brush. A few gunshots rang out. "Ellis is back, baby!" he cried.

The con man rolled his eyes. "If you get pounced, puked on or grabbed by something again, I'm not saving you," he snapped at the kid.

"Don't worry 'bout me, Nick," Ellis said. A small patch of yellow moving through the brush was the only visible part of Ellis they could see as the kid moved about the forest.

Zoey stopped walking and leaned her hunting rifle against a tree and removed her sweatshirt before tying it around her waist..

"Anything looking familiar?" Nick asked her.

The college girl looked around. After a moment, she shook her head. "Not yet," she said.

Nick sighed and wiped sweat from his brow.

He had been voted in charge unwillingly. Unsure of what to do, he had decided to wait and leave first thing in the morning. As soon as they awoke, he thought it would be best to follow the river. About a half hour after leaving the safe room, the three ran into an old hunting cabin where they found food, some hunting rifles and shotgun shells and Ellis' favorite, a chainsaw.

But that had been hours ago and they hadn't run into anything or anyone since, except of course infected.

Nick looked up at the steep hill just on the other side of the river. "Maybe we'd be better off climbing up there," he said. "Or we could continue to follow the river."

"You're not real good at this leading thing are you?" Zoey asked.

Nick glared at her. "Usually it's Coach's job."

Zoey picked up her gun. "Obviously, you can't make up your fucking mind! Let's leave now! Or maybe in the morning. So I think we should follow the river, let's go left, shit we shoulda gone right! Let's climb this here hill, or maybe we should follow the river some more. Shit, I can't remember anything and I probably would make a better leader than you," the girl snapped, her fear from being yelled at by the con man the previous night had turned into irritation and anger.

Nick rolled his eyes. "That hit on the head couldn't take away your mouth as well?" he asked, annoyed. The two had been arguing off and on since they woke up.

"Guess not," Zoey smirked.

"Remind me again why we didn't leave your ass back at that base," Nick grumbled. "Oh yeah, that's right, Ellis had to be the good guy and bring you along. Don't know why though, after the shit you did and said to the poor kid."

Zoey stopped walking and narrowed her eyes at the older man in front of her. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

Nick stopped walking too and turned to face her, his face cold. "You tried to kill him,"he said darkly.

The girl shook her head. "No, theres no way I would do that. I would try and kill you before I even so much as thought about hurting Ellis," she said.

Nick snorted. "Yeah, sure. You can even ask the kid about it."

Zoey crossed her arms. "Fine, I will!" She turned and looked around. "Speaking of which... where is he?" She looked at the con man, fear in her eyes.

"Ellis?" Nick called out, trying not to raise his voice too high.

The only sound was the water making its way down the river and a few birds chirping happily in the trees above.

"Ellis!" Zoey called out slightly louder.

Still no reply.

Nick set his gun down and cupped his hands around his mouth. "ELLIS!"

Both froze and waited for a reply but heard nothing.

"Shit!" Nick said. He grabbed his gun and started running in the direction he last saw Ellis wandering about.

"Ellis!" Zoey cried, following Nick.

She ran into Nick as he quickly stopped running. He spun around and slapped a hand over the college girls mouth and pulled her down into the brush. He held a finger to his lips, telling her to be quiet. She nodded and he removed his hand.

Both pairs of green eyes looked through the brush they were hiding in at the threat in front of them.

There was a small clearing just ahead. Standing in the clearing, growling to itself was one of the biggest Tanks Nick had ever seen.

The giant creature would growl to itself and pace the clearing. Every now and then it would swing it's enormous fists and let out a small roar.

"Oh, God..." Nick whispered quietly.

Zoey turned to see where he was staring and saw a patch of yellow lying on the edge of the clearing. Ellis.

###

"Ellis!"

The young Southerner closed his eyes.

Loud growls escaped the beast in front of him as the noise startled it. It looked around, snorted angrily.

Ellis prayed that it didn't become enraged and bolt after his friends.

He had gotten carried away and wandered a little too far from Nick and Zoey. When he had tried to turn and find his way back he had gotten lost and instead found the beast of a Tank that paced close by.

The kid immediately ducked down, hitting the ground a little harder than expected and wheezed as the air left his lungs.

The Tank had turned, snorting. But Ellis had remained still even though he was out in the open and the Tank either didn't see him or thought he was dead.

He wasn't sure how long he laid there, muscles growing stiff and achy, heart beating against his ribs, his whole body drenched in sweat, before he heard the first yell.

His name echoed in the small clearing.

The beast heard it and began to pace faster, growing more frustrated.

Another yell, closer this time.

Growls rumbled deep in the creature's throat.

By the third cry, the Tank had grown visibly upset, wanted to tear apart whatever was making the horrible noise.

Ellis just remained still, not even daring to breathe as the beast started to throw a fit.

When he finally dared to open his eyes, he caught a glimpse of white and red in the brush just across the clearing.

Nick and Zoey quickly ducked down, finally seeing the giant zombie.

Ellis swallowed, his throat dry. He wanted to move, to return to his friends but every time he so much as twitched, the infected would turn his way.

Face in the dirt, the kid focused on keeping his breathing low and heartbeat slow. He closed his eyes and tried to think of anything other than the creature in front of him.

His face began to sting from the dirt getting into the cut he had received. The pain caused his eyes to water. He wanted so desperately to wipe them away but the growls told him to remain still.

Something touched his shoulder, making him jump. He had to bite his tongue to keep from crying out. The taste of iron invaded his mouth.

"Calm down, its just me," Nick whispered so quietly, Ellis almost thought it to be imaginary.

A series of loud gunshots rang a ways off.

The Tank's small head whipped in that direction. Letting out a bellow of rage, it took off, leaving splintered trees in its wake.

Hands grabbed the younger man and dragged him into the nearby bushes.

"Hell, Nick, ya 'bout scared the shit outta me," Ellis muttered. He looked around and took notice of their missing member. "Where's Zoey?" he asked.

Nick watched the clearing carefully. "Over there, she's the one that fired the gun. She's leading the Tank away."

Blue eyes grew wide. "Ya left her ta fight that beast alone?" he asked, shock and anger in his voice.

Nick glared at him. "Well if you hadn't wandered off in the first place, we wouldn't be in this mess!" he snapped.

Ellis flinched, as if his words were a physical blow.

The brush parted behind them and the college girl knelt beside them. Her face was red and covered with sweat. She panted frantically.

"I... led him... the way... we came..." she panted. Zoey wiped sweat from her forehead. "We just gotta be careful that we don't run into him. He's a nasty fucker."

Nick stood up and looked around, his eyes narrowed. "Knowing our luck, we'll meet up with it again."

Zoey looked up at him, narrowing her eyes and still breathing heavy. "Well aren't you Mr. Positivity!" she snapped.

Ellis stood up and pulled Zoey to her feet, letting her lean on him while she caught her breath.

Nick looked up at the sky, ignoring Zoey's comment. He frowned. "It's getting dark," he said after a moment. "We best find a safe room quick or else we'll be stuck camping somewhere. And with a beast like that roaming around, we can't afford to travel all night."

Ellis adjusted the chainsaw tied to his back and frowned as well. "This is turning into some scary shit," he said.

Nick gripped his rifle tighter and looked at the two younger survivors. Both were pale, worn down and scared. The con man sighed. "No one said it was gonna get easier, Overalls."

###

They traveled long after the sun set and the moon rose high into the sky. The white orb giving them just enough light where flashlights weren't necessary.

Zoey finally collapsed to her knees, gripping her head and panting.

Ellis collapsed next to her, his eyes closing and his breathing heavy.

"Hey, Nick, I don't think we can go any further," the young man breathed, not opening his eyes, his face in the dirt.

The eldest of the group gripped his chest and looked up at the moon. The pale light made his suit glow and hair darken.

"I guess we're setting up camp here then," he said after a moment. He slung his rifle and med kit off his back and let them both drop to the ground with a thud.

Zoey let go of her head and looked up at him. "Want me to start a fire? Or will that attract zombies?" she asked.

"Start a small fire, just big enough to heat up some food, I'll keep watch," With that said, the man in the suit grabbed his pistol and a few extra clips of ammo before going about patrolling the area.

Zoey got up and wandered about the tiny clearing, gathering dead leaves and sticks for the fire. She cleared a spot in the dirt and set down the supplies she had gathered.

"Ya need help?" Ellis asked.

Zoey bit her lip. "I need a way to magically produce fire," she said, staring down her pile of firewood.

The young Southerner chuckled and reached into the pocket of his coveralls and pulled out a zippo. He flipped it open and snapped his fingers against the starter and a small flame came to life.

"Magic!" he said with a smile.

Zoey laughed and took the lighter from him and lit the fire. "Smartass!" she chuckled. Once she got the fire going, she handed the lighter back to Ellis. "How did you learn that snap trick?" she asked.

Ellis sat next to her. "My buddy Keith taught it to me," the kid lowered his eyes to the fire and stared at it, the flames reflecting off his blue irises'. "Man I miss him..." his voice died away.

The college girl beside him looked at him with sympathetic eyes. "He's dead isn't he?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Ellis nodded and hugged his knees to his chest. "They treated him like a lab rat, he woulda been fine if they hadn't tried ta mess with him..." The kid turned his head away as tears streamed down his face.

Arms wrapped around him. Zoey spoke quietly in his ear.

"That base was awful, wasn't it?" she asked.

Ellis just nodded, still not looking at the young woman beside him.

Zoey bit her lip and looked at the small fire. The small flames danced, leaving eerie shadows around the now dark clearing. Nick could be heard rustling in the brush close by.

"Ellis..." Zoey started.

"What?" Ellis replied softly.

Zoey took a deep breath before going on. "I was talking to Nick earlier and he mentioned a few things about what happened in the base..."

Ellis sat up straight and turned to look at her, his face still wet with tears. His blue eyes widened a bit and it made Zoey feel uneasy.

"What things?" the kid asked.

"Well..." Zoey swallowed and looked at the ground. "He said that I tried to kill you." When she didn't immediately hear Ellis deny it, she cautiously lifted her eyes to his. His expression scared her, he almost looked guilty. Zoey's heart dropped and her stomach knotted painfully. "Ellis?"

The young southerner lowered his eyes. "Ya did..."

"Why?" Zoey asked, horrified.

Ellis let out a big sigh and stared at the small fire. He blinked a few times before responding.

"It's cuz of me that you was in that base, it's cuz of me yer apart from Francis and Louis... and it's cuz of me that ya can't remember anything..." Ellis let his voice die.

Zoey said nothing, shocked.

"I'm sorry, Zoey," Ellis climbed to his feet and took off before Zoey could object.

The college student watched him go, her stomach only knotting tighter.

Suddenly, Ellis was in front of her again, his face pale and twisted in pain. They were in a room made of bricks and concrete, the walls a sickening green.

Her arm was pinning Ellis to the wall, in her hand, she held a knife. The blade of the knife was at his side and she gradually kept adding more and more pressure.

Fear and pain flashed across Ellis' eyes.

Zoey leaned in and growled. "I swear to God, if CEDA doesn't kill you, I will!"

The college girl blinked and realized several tears had run down her face. She wiped them away and sighed.

Guilt made her stomach knot up to the point she felt like she was going to vomit. She wanted nothing more than for her memory to return.

She curled into a ball let the tears flow.

"I'm sorry, Ellis..."

###

The fire drew him in. Orange flickering light in the middle of the dark woods.

That meant people.

He ran, full sprint towards the light. It led him to a small clearing.

Next to the fire sat two bodies. One with a red sweatshirt and a dark ponytail, the other in a yellow t-shirt and a trucker hat.

His hands twitched. He could attack now and be done with both of them. His instincts to kill tore at him but he forced himself to wait. Others were around, he could hear them.

The two by the fire sat in an embrace until the one in yellow suddenly got up and took off.

The brush next to him rustled.

He took off, staying out of their sight while keeping them in his.


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N:** So sorry about taking so long to update, I have been so busy and have had the worst case of writer's block. I never abandon a story, I promise, so if I take a while to update, please just bear with me. Anyway, here's chapter 27, Enjoy!

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><p>The ground was hard, very hard.<p>

Ellis grunted as he adjusted, trying to get comfortable. His muscles were stiff, causing him to start to rise from his rough slumber.

When he moved, something wiggled against him. Something large and warm.

His eyes shot open in a panic. The light blinded him and he hissed as he groped the dirt blindly for his gun.

The thing moved again and sighed softly.

Ellis froze and squinted, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight.

The sun was just starting to rise above the trees, shining right in the young man's face. In the middle of the clearing, the ashes from the fire still smoked. On the other side of the fire pit, Nick lay on his side, eyes closed, still asleep.

Ellis looked down at the college girl next to him.

Zoey was curled up against his chest, her face buried in his dirty Bull Shifters shirt. His arm was draped across her waist. He pulled his arm away and she sighed again in her sleep and moved closer to the young Southerner.

Ellis felt his cheeks burn. He didn't remember falling asleep the previous night. He also didn't remember cuddling with the only female member of their small group.

He felt his cheeks burn hotter when he realized he actually liked it.

Zoey's eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Ellis with a smile.

"Morning," she said.

"M-Morning," Ellis choked out, feeling the hotness spread to his ears and neck.

Zoey sat up and stretched, her back cracking multiple times. That's when Ellis noticed she wasn't wearing her sweatshirt.

The red sweatshirt was folded into a makeshift pillow under the kid's head. He sat up and quickly tossed it at its owner.

The college girl looked at him. "You ok, Ellis?" she asked.

Ellis just nodded.

Nick grunted from where he lay before sitting up and looking around. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and looked at the two younger survivors with a scowl.

He got up and walked off into the bushes nearby, grumbling to himself.

"He's always grumpy when he wakes up," Ellis told Zoey.

Zoey stretched again, her back cracking more. "I don't blame him. It's not easy sleeping on hard ground like that."

Ellis looked around. "I'm surprised that fire didn' attract any zombies n' shit," Ellis said, finally feeling the burning subside as his face returned to its normal color.

Zoey looked around as well. "I know, it's weird. I don't think the alarm from the base could attract zombies from way out here... wait... there was an alarm right? When we tried to escape?"

Ellis nodded and grabbed his shotgun tightly. "Nick should be back by now, he never takes this long ta piss."

Before either survivor could move, a flash of white burst out of the bushes.

Nick panted heavily, his hair and clothes a mess and his eyes wide.

"Get into the bushes now! Duck down, lay as flat as you can and don't make a sound!" he hissed and ran past Ellis and ducked into the bushes behind the young man.

Ellis and Zoey followed suit.

"What's going on?"

Nick slapped a hand over the hick's mouth. "I said quiet!" Nick whispered.

A low growl made all three of them freeze. The tank from the other day snorted as it made its way through the trees into the clearing where the survivors had been sleeping moment before.

The beast looked around, growling and snorting.

"How...?" Zoey whispered quietly.

The Tank snorted again and sniffed. With an angry growl, it smacked the still smoking ashes and sent them flying everywhere.

Ellis pinched his nose shut, holding in a sneeze.

Nick narrowed his eyes.

"The fire..."

The Tank went into a frenzy, pounding the ground and throwing things about, including the survivors supplies.

Ellis' backpack hit a tree nearby and exploded in a mess of gauze and canned beans. Zoey's was thrown off and disappeared into the forest.

All three survivors hung their heads and let out silent sighs.

"Of course," Nick whispered.

With a last few angry snorts and growls, the Tank decided he wasn't going to find what he was looking for in the clearing and stomped out. The three hidden in the bushes watched the beast leave and waited to make sure it wouldn't come back.

Ellis sighed and put his face in his hands. "Holy shit..."

Nick stood up and cautiously walked out into the clearing to gather what little supplies they had.

Zoey followed him, Ellis close behind her.

"I led that thing so far away, how the hell did it find us?" the college student cried angrily.

Nick kicked what remained of the ash pile. "The fire drew it in," he ran both hands through his dark hair. "Fucking knew we shouldn't have started one."

Ellis adjusted his hat. "That's probably why there ain't no infected around." he said.

The con man shook his head and muttered to himself and grabbed the only remaining backpack.

Ellis bent down and picked up a few of the cans of beans. He frowned as water and beans spilled down his arms.

"Well, that sucks..." The kid frowned at the ruined cans and spillled beans in the dirt.

Zoey picked up the few gauze packs from the exploded backpack.

"At least the gauze is still good," she said.

Nick dug through his backpack. "All I got is a couple cans of refried beans and a can of Spaghetti O's, so unless we find a safe house with food here quick, we're gonna have to go hungry for a while."

A loud grumble came from Ellis' stomach and he gripped it and looked up at Nick.

"I'm hungry already," he said.

"Then we best get moving," Nick said and started walking in the opposite direction of where the Tank had gone.

Zoey raised an eyebrow. "That's the way we came from last night," she said.

Nick looked back at her. "Would you rather go _towards_ the monster that wants to kill us?" he snapped.

The college girl sighed. "I guess not."

Ellis' stomach gave another painful growl.

"Let's get going," Nick pushed a few branches aside and started backtracking.

They didn't make it far before there was a loud gurgle. Seconds later, the survivors vision was clouded as slime covered them,

"This shit sucks!" Ellis cried, swinging his shotgun blindly like a club.

Howls of nearby infected rose along with the sound of pounding feet. Zombies surrounded them.

There was an explosion somewhere behind Ellis and Zoey cried out.

The puke began to clear from Ellis' eyes. He could barely make out the form of the college student as infected rushed at her.

"No no no no!" she cried. The zombies around her grabbed at her hair and clothing, pulling her this way and that. She swung her gun wildly but to no prevail. She screamed as the zombies began to drag her down to the ground and stomp on her. "Help! I'm down!" she cried.

There was a loud roar of a chainsaw followed by gallons of blood pouring down on the young woman. Zoey dropped her gun and covered her head.

"Get away ya sons of bitches!" Ellis yelled over the chainsaw and the growling infected.

The motor of the chainsaw began to draw more and more zombies in. Ellis ran about, swinging the chainsaw. Blood, gore and body parts flew everywhere, covering the young man.

"DIE MY DARLINGS! DIE! DIE! DIE!" Ellis yelled out.

Zoey didn't uncover her head until the chainsaw stuttered to a stop.

She looked up and saw Ellis standing above her, hand extended and his goofy smile on his face.

Zoey took his hand and let him pull her up.

"Man, I had no idea how much I missed that," Ellis said.

Zoey just gave a small smile. "Thanks, Ellis," she said.

Ellis beamed. "Yer welcome, that's what friends are for."

Nick walked over grumbling to himself. "Get it back for three days and the things filthy again..."

"Still whining 'bout yer suit?" Ellis teased.

Nick glared up at Ellis. The kid was covered in blood from head to foot. Random chunks of zombies clung to his clothing.

"You're one little sadistic shit, you know that?" he asked the younger man.

Before Ellis could respond, a low growl close by made Nick become alert and shove the younger two forward.

"And also the world's biggest dumbass! That little stunt lead it right back to us! Now move!"

Ellis and Zoey turned and began running through the brush as fast as they could. Nick stopped and studied the trees behind them. He could see the outline of the Tank close by. He swore under his breath and turned to follow the others.

He froze when he saw it.

A figure just hiding in the shadows. Nick's first instincts was that Ellis had come back make sure he was ok. But then he realized it was much too tall to be the young Southerner. His second thought was a Smoker. But there was no coughing or smoke. Nick turned to grab his gun off his back, not wanting to take any chances. But when he turned back, the figure was gone.

"What the fuck?" he muttered to himself.

The con man took a few steps closer but didn't see anything.

Another growl came from the Tank, closer this time.

Not wanting to risk it getting too close, Nick took off running to catch up with his remaining companions. The figure still in his mind.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: **So I wrote this chapter kinda backwards, writing the end first and such. I couldn't think of what to put for the rest of the chapter so I had my friend help me and we kinda switched it up a bit, so let me know what you think :) and thanks, Shannon for the help. Enjoy!

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><p>"I swear to God, Ellis, if your stomach growls one more time, I'm going to shoot you," Nick grumbled.<p>

"Sorry, I'm hungry," Ellis said.

Zoey stopped walking and bent over, hands on her knees. "Maybe we can stop and rest for a minute?" she suggested as sweat ran into her eyes.

Ellis took off his drenched hat and shook out his sweaty hair. "A break sounds real good right now," he said.

Nick sighed and dropped the backpack to the ground. "Fine, we'll take a quick break." The con man wiped sweat from his forehead and dug in the backpack. He grabbed the last remaining water bottle and opened it and drank greedily.

"Hey! No fair, man!" Ellis cried. He grabbed the bottle from Nick, making him choke. He put the bottle to his dry lips and started chugging.

"Save me some!" Zoey cried.

Guilt flashed across the young man's face as he lowered the bottle from his lips. A few drops of water were all that were left at the bottom of the bottle.

"Sorry, Zoey... I..."

"Good going, Overalls," Nick snapped.

"You drank most of it!" Ellis defended.

Nick removed his suit coat. "Doesn't matter, you finished it." He hung the coat on a tree branch and rolled the sleeves of the blue undershirt up and undid most of the buttons.

"The river should be close by. Go fill it back up," Nick tossed a few more empty ones at the kid. "These too."

Ellis caught them and scowled at the older man.

"I'll go with you," Zoey offered, her tongue feeling huge due to lack of moisture. "Nick can find a way to open the cans and probably start setting up camp."

Ellis looked at her then to Nick and shrugged. "Ok."

Zoey took a couple of the bottles as the two started towards the sound of running water a little ways off.

They came to the river a few minutes later.

Ellis shot the few infected hanging about on the other side before going about filling the water bottles. He held a bottle up and examined it.

The water was clear with only a few pieces of sand floating about. But that didn't matter.

"Looks clean," he said.

"And it's cold!" Zoey bent down next to the water, took in a breath and stuck her head under. Her hands went to her hair and she scrubbed fiercely. Blood, dirt and sweat made the water turn dark and the current quickly carried it away.

She lifted her head up and took in a gasp of breath and shook out her wet hair. "Man, that feels good!"

Ellis knelt beside her and put his face to the water. He drank greedily, mouthful after mouthful of water. Water had never tasted so good. When he was done, he looked down at himself and saw the dried blood, caked mud and crusty goo.

"I could use a washin'," he said.

Zoey looked at him. "No one's around," she said. She stood up and looked around. "I don't see any zombies."

Ellis looked around to double check. "Ya sure?"

"I'll keep watch," Zoey grabbed Ellis' shotgun. "I got a gun."

The young Southerner got up. "Ok, just holler if ya see anythin'."

Zoey smiled. "Ok."

Ellis walked down to the water and kicked off his boots. He pulled his socks off and stuffed them inside. Zoey watched as he slowly removed his shirt.

She bit her lip when she saw the angry burn running across his back and the slash marks on his sides and the scars that trailed across his shoulders.

Ellis stepped out of his coveralls and slowly waded into the water. "Holy shit! It's cold!" he cried.

Zoey giggled. "Told you!" she hollered. She watched as Ellis tried to lower himself into the water but yelped and stood back up.

Even though he had lost a bit of weight while in the base, he was still built fairly well. Being out and running around like old times was really helping him get his muscles back.

Zoey looked away when she realized she was staring.

Ellis took a deep breath and plunged under the water. He thrashed about and his head reappeared a moment later, his teeth chattering.

"You look cold," Zoey teased.

Ellis just nodded and shivered. He ducked back under and scrubbed his hair.

Something moved in the bushes and Zoey instantly became alert and stood up, gun raised.

Green eyes scanned the bushes but she saw nothing.

The bushes rustled again followed by a sadistic giggle.

Zoey cried out and fired multiple times at where the bushes moved. When the bushes didn't move anymore, she sighed and lowered her gun to her side.

A crushing weight landed on her shoulders and caused her to stumble. The gun fell from her hands as laughter entered her ears.

Her hands went to her face where claws dug in painfully. Whatever the creature was, it was causing her to stumble this way and that, almost like it was _controlling her_.

She tried to shake the thing off but it led her farther and farther from her original spot.

"ELLIS!" she screamed.

Through the claws digging at her face, she watched helplessly as Ellis jumped out of the water and began to ran after her.

He stopped just long enough to grab his gun and kept running at a full sprint.

The creature laughed and led Zoey farther away.

"Help!" she cried as the creature pulled her to the ground. She hit hard, tears exploding in her eyes, blurring her vision.

"Ya son of a bitch!" Ellis yelled and fired once, twice, three times.

Zoey wiped the tears as Ellis pulled her up.

"You ok?" he asked, worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Zoey replied, still shaken up a bit.

Ellis dusted off her back and went about examining the cuts on her face and neck. His blue eyes full of worry.

"Them Jockey's are nasty little bitches," he said.

Zoey shivered slightly. She looked down at the body beside them. The zombie was short with a messed up spine and huge hands and feet.

The college girl wrinkled her nose at it.

She turned back to her savior and found him looking at her, still worried.

"Ya sure yer ok?" he asked in his southern drawl.

Zoey smiled. "I'm fine, just a few cuts and bruises." She realized Ellis was still dripping wet and still in just his boxers from being in the river. His hands gently gripped her shoulders. She met his eyes.

She opened her mouth to thank him. Instead she found herself taking a step closer to him and pressing her lips against his.

Ellis tensed at first but after a second, he relaxed, kissing her back and wrapping his arms around her.

As quickly as the kiss started, it ended.

Ellis pushed Zoey away, catching her off guard.

Zoey turned to him confused and saw he had a horrified look on his face. He took a few steps back away from her, eyes wide.

"What?" Zoey asked, hurt.

All Ellis could do was shake his head and keep backing up.

Zoey took a few steps towards him. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked.

Ellis just kept backing away from her, shaking his head with that horrified look on his face.

"Ellis, what is it?" Zoey asked, starting to feel sick. "Am I disgusting or something?" Tears started to well up in her eyes.

"No!" Ellis finally found his voice. He made it back to his clothes. "I'm really sorry, Zoey. I'm really sorry..." he began to quickly dress, not meeting her eye.

Zoey stood still, just watching him.

The kid adjusted the hat on his head and muttered to himself. "Nick is gonna kill me..."

"Why?" Zoey asked.

Ellis looked at her, guilt heavy in his eyes. "If only yer memory would come back... Ya would understand..." he looked away and fiddled with his gun. "Yer not supposed ta like me... Ya really hate me..."

Before Zoey could reply, a figure barreled down the brush nearby and sent Ellis to the mud, gripping his jaw.

"I'm gonna kill you!" it growled before a black boot made contact with Ellis' abdomen.

He was tall, very tall. His arms were covered in ink and his hair was buzzed short. He was dressed in all black except for the stained white tank top under his vest.

He continued to kick the younger man while he was down, yelling and swearing at him in a deep voice.

It took a moment for Zoey to process who he was.

"Francis!" she cried out and ran at the big man. "Francis stop!"

She was shoved aside as Francis knelt down and began to punch Ellis. Ellis fought back the best he could but in his weakened state, he was no match.

"STOP IT!" Zoey screamed.

A flash of white sent Francis to the bushes next to Zoey.

Nick tackled the biker and began to throw a few punches.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Nick growled as his fist made contact with Francis' nose.

Francis growled and swung out and hit Nick's eye.

"I'm gonna kill that bastard!" Francis growled.

Ellis groaned and gripped his stomach as he tried to get up. Zoey ran to him and started to help him up even though the kid protested.

Once he was on his feet, Zoey turned to the two men fighting.

"STOP IT! STOP IT!" she ran up to them and tried to push them apart.

"Zoey!" Ellis cried.

A fist hit Zoey's mouth and she fell and cried out.

Both men stopped fighting and looked over at her.

She spit blood into the dirt and let a sob escape her. Tears fell down her cheeks and she began to tremble.

"What's going on?" she asked between sobs.

Nick wiped blood from his mouth and stood up. "I was about to ask the same thing."

Francis got up as well and glared daggers at the youngest member of the group, making him squirm a bit.

"This inbred tried pulling shit," Francis growled, taking a menacing step towards the young Georgian.

"No..." Ellis began to protest.

Zoey glared up at Francis through her tears. "_I_ kissed _him_," she said.

"What?!" Nick glared at her then at Ellis.

"I have no idea what is going on," Zoey went on. "Next thing I know, you're beating the living shit out of him and then Fancy Pants here joins in and shit just hit the fan."

Francis took a few steps closer to her, looking at her closely. "What do you mean you have no idea?"

Zoey sighed. "I don't know what is going on! I mean, who are you?"

Francis blinked. "Who am I?" he asked shocked.

"All I know is that your name is Francis and I traveled with you at one point and we got seperated."

Nick crossed him arms. "Now would probably be a good time to tell you that she hit her head and has no memory of what's happened the past few months," he said.

"What?!" Francis growled.

Nick nodded. "And to answer your question, Zoey, that brute is your boyfriend, surprise!"

Zoey's jaw dropped. "What...? How...?" She was at a loss of words. She spun around and met Ellis' sad and quiltly gaze. He quickly lowered his eyes and swallowed.

Her legs gave out and Francis caught her and lifted her into his arms. She just closed her eyes and let a few tears fall.

Francis looked at the other men. "Which way to the Safe house?" he asked.

Nick pointed over his shoulder. "No Safe house but camp is that way."

Francis nodded and carried Zoey the way Nick had pointed.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Nick turned on Ellis. He grabbed the kid's shirt and glared at him.

"What the hell did Coach tell you back at Rayford?" he snapped. "He told you to stay the hell away from her or else Francis would kill you, you're just damn lucky I came looking for you!"

Ellis shrank aware from the cold glare. "'M sorry, she kissed me and I didn't know that Francis was watchin'."

Nick let go of his shirt and shook his head. "We better head back before Grease Monkey eats all the food."

The younger of the two took a few steps forward before stopping. "Hey, Nick, what would you do if I said I liked it?" he asked.

Nick didn't look back but shook his head, cursing the young man. "I would kill you."

"That's what I thought," Ellis said before following Nick into the brush.

By the time they made it back to their supplies, Francis had already finished off the Spaghetti O's and was starting on a can of beans.

Nick ran up and snatched the can out of Francis' gloved hand.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" Francis growled.

The con man scowled at the bigger man. "This is all we have left! And you fucking ate most of it!"

Francis wiped his hands on his pants. "Calm down, Colonel Sanders, we'll find more."

Zoey looked up at him. "We haven't found a safe house in days," she said.

Francis just shrugged and scratched at his beard. One of his gloves were missing.

Nick reached into his pocket and threw the other glove at its owner. "That's yours I believe, smells bad enough so it must be."

Francis glared at both the other men and caught his glove and put it back on.

Nick sat on a fallen log and Ellis sat next to him, eyes nervously watching Francis.

"So you gonna tell us what happened?" Nick asked. He handed the half of a can of beans to Ellis. The young man looked at them a second before digging in.

Francis snorted. "Sure, he gets to eat," he grumbled.

"You already had an entire can of Spaghetti O's, fatass!" Nick snapped.

"Just tell us your damn story!" Zoey said, trying to avoid another fight.

Francis looked at her before speaking. "Not much to say, Me, Zoey and Coach got separated from the rest of you when the Tank chased us off towards the woods. We killed it and tried to meet up with Rochelle and Louis but it started to rain and we got lost. Me and the big guy slid down some huge hill into a river. That's when I lost both Zoey and Coach, been wandering around trying to find them since." He glared at Ellis. "Instead, I run into you guys."

Nick sighed. "Well, you're no help then," he said.

Francis narrowed his eyes. "That's it? No welcome wagon? No 'are you ok'?" he asked sarcastically.

"I think you already got that," Nick cracked his knuckles and stood up. "Better get comfy, looks like we'll be camping here for the night."

"I hate camping," Francis grumbled.

Zoey looked at him. "Is there anything you don't hate?" she asked.

Francis chuckled. "She remembers something." He tucked his arm under his head and closed his eyes. Snores came moments later.

Nick shook his head and rested his head on the backpack. "His snores alone are gonna drag that Tank right back here," he muttered before he closed his eyes.

Ellis and Zoey didn't move from where they were sitting.

Nick's breathing slowed and deepened as he drifted off.

Ellis met Zoey's gaze after a moment.

He opened his mouth to speak but Zoey beat him to it.

"Why didn't you tell me I had a boyfriend?" she asked.

"I..." Ellis looked away and bit his lip painfully. The thought had never crossed his mind, he had figured Zoey would remember it on her own. The last thing he expected was for Zoey to start liking him. "I don't know..."

Zoey looked over at Francis' sleeping form and frowned. With a sigh she laid down next to him and let him wrap his arm around her in his sleep.

She was fast asleep moments later.

Ellis turned away from the couple and swallowed the rising bile in his throat. He closed his eyes tightly and let out a shaky sigh. He had only felt this way one other time in his life and it was months ago, in the driver seat of his childhood hero's car when he caught a glance of the rearview mirror. Up on the bridge, was the girl he had completely fallen for shooting frantically. Moments later, tattooed arms wrapped themselves around her protectively. Without realizing it, Ellis' foot pressed the accelerator to the floor, he didn't watch the road, just the couple in the mirror until he couldn't see them anymore.

The kid wrapped his arms around himself and rested his forehead on his knees.

"I'm an idiot..."

Something moved close by and Nick jumped, awake and alert.

He looked around the tiny campsite, taking a headcount.

Francis and Zoey were lying side by side to his right. Zoey sighed in her sleep and Francis pulled her closer, mumbling something.

Across from them was Ellis who sat with his legs pulled up to his chest, his head resting on his knees.

At first Nick thought he was awake and that he was the one that had made the noise but after calling out his name a few times quietly, he found the young man was asleep.

Ellis groaned in his sleep and fell over onto his side. He mumbled a few words but didn't wake up.

Nick stood up and grabbed the nearest gun. Something moved in the bushes behind Ellis.

Nick stepped over Ellis' sleeping form as he mumbled something about laughter and curled into a tighter ball.

Once he was in the brush, Nick clicked on the flashlight and swept the small beam over the nearby trees and brush. When he didn't see anything, he turned to go back to the others when he saw it. It was just a quick glance out the corner of his eye. He spun around just in time to see a dark figure disappear into the darkness.

Nick's heart began to pound.

He had figured that Francis was the figure he kept seeing in the brush. The height and build was about the same. But Francis was back at camp, fast asleep.

The figure wasn't Francis. It was too tall to be Louis or Rochelle and too thin to be Coach.

Nick turned and ran back to where the others were sleeping, fear spreading throughout his body.

Whoever or whatever it was was following them.

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><p><strong>AN: **My brother has been playing a lot of Slender, can you tell?


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: **So sorry for such a long gap between updates, I've had this chapter pretty much done for a while but could not think of a way to end it for the life of me. I never abandon a story and I will try to update more often with this and my new story Run Like Hell. Kind of a long chapter, let me know what ya think. Enjoy!

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><p>Thick, dark clouds hung over the forest as the survivors moved slowly along.<p>

Zoey looked up at the sky and wrinkled her nose. "More rain?" she asked no one in particular.

Nick, who was leading, stopped and leaned against a tree, gripping his chest and arm. "Probably," he grumbled.

The small group had had a rude awakening as a horde attacked the sleeping survivors. Unable to quickly reach their weapons, the zombies did a decent amount of damage to all of them.

Nick pulled his hand away to find he was still bleeding.

Amongst the chaos, a Hunter had gotten to Nick, ripping open his partially healed wounds from the witch. Ellis finally managed to shoot the hunter. Before the kid could run to help Nick up, something barreled through the trees and grabbed Ellis while knocking Francis down.

Zoey cried out as a tongue wrapped around her waist and throat and she was lifted off the ground.

"THIS THING'S CRUSHING ME!" Ellis screamed as he was repeatedly slammed into the ground.

Francis picked himself up and began to shoot up into the tree Zoey was dangling from while limping towards Nick who was still on the ground.

Nick aimed and fired frantically at the giant armed brute still smashing the youngest member into the dirt.

With a burst of smoke followed by one last cough, Zoey dropped back to the ground, coughing and gripping her throat.

Francis grabbed Nick's arm and pulled him up. "Get up! Get up!" he yelled.

"Thanks," Nick breathed as more howls rang in the air as another horde approached.

Francis took off, running full sprint at Zoey.

Nick grabbed his rifle from where he dropped it and ran towards the Charger. It took two shots to the back of the head for the monster to fall and release Ellis.

The kid remained on the ground, not moving or making a sound.

Gunshots rang frantically as Zoey and Francis tried to kill the oncoming horde.

"Could use some help over here!" Francis yelled.

Nick kneeled beside Ellis. "Gimme a second!" he called back. He turned to the kid and growled. "You better not be dead, damn it!" His fingers went to the young man's neck. Nick relaxed a bit when he felt a pulse.

"HEY! I NEED SOME FUCKING HELP!" Francis yelled.

He was dancing his way out of a decent puddle of Spitter acid. Zoey cried out as a Jockey jumped onto her shoulders and started to lead her away.

Nick shot once before his gun clicked.

The single bullet killed the nearby Spitter. The gross infected woman let out a final screech and collapsed to the ground, acid leaking out of her deformed body. Francis jumped back, almost stepping in the fresh acid.

Nick tossed his empty gun aside in frustration and went back to using his pistol.

"Go get Zoey, I got this!" he called to Francis.

The biker nodded and took off after where the Jockey was last seen with Zoey.

Nick quickly reloaded and began shooting at the snarling infected. He had to make every bullet count. His last clip of bullets felt heavy in his pocket.

There was a click as his current clip ran out of ammo.

"Tits!" Nick reached into his pocket, struggling to pull the clip out.

The last four infected ran at him and began to swing at him as he tried to reload.

One of the infected sunk her teeth into Nick's arm, causing him to drop his now loaded gun.

"Since when do you fuckers bite?" Nick yelled, trying to shake the infected woman off his arm. She just snarled and bit harder.

The other three zombies pulled at the white suit. There was the sound of ripping fabric.

In a desperate attempt to escape, Nick swung out and punched the infected with his arm still clenched between her teeth. His rings tore her decayed skin and blood splattered onto his white coat sleeve.

Gunshots rang out close by but Nick didn't hear them as he continued to punch the zombie in front of him repeatedly.

"Nick! It's dead!" Zoey cried as Francis pulled him away from the dead woman's form.

Burning pain ran up and down his arm and his chest. Nick inhaled sharply and tried to tune the pain out.

Zoey and Francis stood looking at Nick with similar worried expressions.

"You ok?" Francis asked.

Nick nodded and picked up his gun with his good arm. That's when he saw just the blue sleeve. He looked down at himself and saw half of his suit coat was ripped apart. He closed his eyes and sighed.

He turned and walked over to where Ellis still lay from the Charger attack.

The kid groaned and opened his eyes. All he saw were big blurs that intensified with every heartbeat.

Through the fog, two faces formed. One was Nick's with a slightly pissed off look to his face. The other was that of an angel and Ellis couldn't help but smile.

Zoey looked down at him with a frown. "Are you ok?" she asked.

Ellis sighed and winced against the pain radiating in his chest. He silently cursed the Charger for re breaking his ribs.

"'M fine, just hit mah head is all," he said and smiled through the pain. "Nick, yer bleedin'."

Nick looked down at himself again and saw the tattered remains of his suit coat and stained blue shirt.

"Yeah, I guess I am," he said.

That had been about two hours ago.

Zoey had patched up Nick the best she could with what little supplies they had left. Ellis finished the last of the pain pills, leaving them with no food and no medical supplies.

Francis walked up to Nick who was slumped against the tree still.

"You don't look too good," the bigger man said.

Nick snorted. "Not feeling all that grand at the moment either."

Zoey stood just behind them with a frown on her face. Ellis limped up a moment later, he had quickly fallen behind due to his injuries.

Nick unbuttoned the blue shirt and checked on his bandages. He was bleeding from three different spots. He sighed and felt his stitches pulling at his skin. He had pulled a few stitches. "Well, that sucks," he muttered.

Ellis sat on a stump and set his head in his hands. His chest throbbed and every inhale felt like swallowing shards of glass. His head was spinning and there was still dried blood on his forehead. He coughed and whimpered. It had felt like his ribs had just finished healing from the Tank on the bridge, just to have a Charger redo the damage.

Francis looked from Nick to Ellis back to Nick. He let out a low whistle.

"You two look like shit," he said.

Both Nick and Ellis glared at him.

Francis just shrugged it off and started to fiddle with his shotgun.

"I'm hungry..." Ellis muttered quietly. His stomach growled painfully.

"We all are, El," Zoey said sadly and sat beside him on the stump. She looked at him with a frown, ignoring the death glare from Francis.

Nick sighed painfully and closed his eyes. "I have no fucking idea what the hell we're gonna do," he muttered.

Zoey felt Ellis shiver and she patted his shoulder. Nick was losing hope and was close to throwing in the towel.

"We're gonna keep going," she said. "We've been through this before, we can go through it again, there's gotta be a safe room around here."

Nick glared at her, eyes bloodshot and cheeks flushed. "And what if we're walking in circles? We have no food, no medical supplies, pretty much no ammo and there's a massive fucking Tank wandering around not to mention some other thing that keeps following us and I have no fucking idea who or what it is..." Nick let his voice die.

The other three looked at him.

"Wait, what?" Francis asked.

Nick sighed. He had kept the figure from the others hoping that it was all in his head and decided the last thing he needed was for them to freak out over nothing.

"The past few days or so I've been seeing something following us. I don't what the hell it is. At first I thought it was just a zombie but then Francis showed up so I thought maybe it was him. But last night I saw it again. Everytime I try to get close enough to see it, it disappears, but it's definitely following us."

Francis and Zoey looked at each other with confused looks.

Ellis looked up at Nick. "So, ya mean, Slendy?" he asked.

"Who?" Nick asked.

"Slenderman, that's who it sounds like yer talkin' 'bout. He's a figure that follows people in the woods and if he gets too close to ya, he grabs ya and shit. He's tall and got no face with really long arms and shit. He's fucking terrifying!" the young man said.

Nick shook his head. "I can assure you it's not 'Slenderman'."

Ellis shrugged. "Just sounded like it, and with the all the zombies and shit, I guess anything's possible."

"You sure it's not all in your head?" Zoey asked Nick. "You look flushed."

Nick mumbled to himself and shook his head.

Zoey took a step closer and placed her hand on the con man's forehead.

Nick flinched and shoved her away. "Don't touch me!"

"You have a fever!" Zoey said.

Nick's heart immediately began to pound and his hand instantly went to his arm where his untreated bite wound remained hidden under his coat sleeve.

Zoey noticed it and grabbed his arm and pulled the sleeve up. Once she saw the bite, she dropped the man's arm and took a step back.

"You've been bitten..." she muttered.

Nick yanked his sleeve down. "So?" he challenged.

"Isn't that how this whole zombie thing is spread?" Francis asked.

"No, I mean, you've all been bitten before and nothing happened!" Nick snapped.

Zoey and Francis looked at each other with worried expressions.

"Neither of us have been bitten before," Francis said.

Nick began to panic, his heart beating against his ribs. He turned to Ellis who stood in the back, white as a ghost.

"Ellis? You have haven't you?" he asked, trying to keep his voice level.

The young man shook his head. "Of all the shit I've been through, I ain't ever been bit."

Nick swallowed and shrugged. "Well, I'm a carrier, so I've got nothing to worry about anyway."

"Do you really believe a single word of bullshit Miller said?" Francis asked.

Nick crossed his arms and looked away.

Ellis adjusted his weight from one foot to the other, terrified. "So is Nick infected?" he asked in a shaky voice. He asked the question they were all thinking but none of them wanted to say.

"I don't know," Zoey replied quietly.

Francis aimed his gun at the man in the suit. "Best not take that chance," he said.

Nick pulled out his Magnum and aimed it at the biker's head. "I go down and I'm taking you with me, Grease Monkey," Nick growled.

"Nobody is shooting anybody!" Zoey yelled. She turned to Nick. "It's been, what, two hours since you've been bitten? And nothing's happened so far other than a fever but that could be from anything."

"How long does it usually take?" Francis asked.

"According to Sanchez, anywhere from 5 minutes to three days, so we just have to wait it out and if the fever goes away and Nick is still... Nick... then he's fine." She noticed the look on Francis' face. "What? Some things are starting to come back to me. Slowly."

Ellis swallowed. "And if he's not ok?"

Nick looked at him. "Then shoot me."

The youngest member of the group wrapped his arms around his broken torso and let a shiver run through his body.

"I could never do that..." he muttered.

Francis raised his gun. "I'll do it then."

Narrowing his eyes, Nick snorted. "You'd love to have that honor wouldn't you?"

Before Francis could reply, the sky opened up and cold rain came pouring down.

That night was cold and unusually dark. Flames reached towards the sky and provided the only warmth and light.

Small cracks and pops from the fire were the only sounds aside from Francis' snores as he slept curled up by the fire.

Zoey sat next to him, a needle in one hand and Nick's ruined coat in the other. She sewed silently.

Nick sat on her other side, chin resting on his knees. He watched as Ellis sat across from him, staring into the fire, not blinking or moving.

"You know this fire is gonna draw in zombies right?" Nick said.

"Would you rather freeze?" Zoey said, not looking away from the coat she was sewing.

Nick sighed and winced and continued to watch Ellis.

"Poor kid," he muttered.

"Maybe you should talk to him?" Zoey suggested.

Nick shrugged. "Yeah, maybe." He didn't move for a few minutes and just stared into the fire. Pain shot through his body and his head throbbed. Every time he swallowed he would wince from his throat being raw. He felt like death.

Zoey cleared her throat as she sewed.

Nick took the hint and got up with a grunt and walked over to where Ellis was sitting. The kid didn't even acknowledged the older man as he sat next to him.

He continued to stare into the fire, unblinking.

Nick sat in silence for a moment, unsure of what to say. Once he found words and opened his mouth, Ellis spoke.

"If yer gonna ask me ta be the one that shoots ya, I ain't doing it," Ellis said quietly but sternly.

Nick shut his mouth and inhaled deeply, his stitches pulled and he let the air out in a hiss.

"No one's gonna have to shoot me, kid," Nick muttered. "I'll be fine."

Ellis blinked but didn't look away from the fire. "Keith and my ma said the same thing..."

Nick looked at him. "Your mom?" he asked.

The kid nodded. "Soon as the evacuations started, she called me and told me ta get home quick. Me and Keith tried ta get there as fast as we could but then them people jumped in front of us and my truck flipped. Keith got thrown out and we got separated. I ran home to find my ma was puking all over the said she was fine it was just somethin' she ate. We didn't even make it out the front door before she fell coughin' up blood and shit. She told me ta shoot her and I couldn't do it. She turned and tried to attack me and I ran, I couldn't shoot her. I shoulda..." Ellis wiped his face. "Woulda been better than having her go after Coach's pipebomb just outside the gunshop..."

Nick's stomach knotted up. He had never put much thought into the infected running after the beeping explosives they had used so many times. He merely thought of it was mindless creatures chasing something amusing and the four of them managing to survive another ten minutes or so. Never in a million years could he imagine having to watch your ill mother run after it just to be turned into a red mist.

"I never said anything cuz I kept telling myself it wasn't her. And then finding Keith in that base..." Ellis swallowed. "You, Coach and Rochelle are the closest thing I got ta family now..."

Nick just stared forward at the fire, unsure of what to say next.

Ellis let out a shuddering sigh. "And with Coach and Ro missin' yer all I got..."

"Kid, you may piss me the fuck off and can be a real pain in the ass at times, but I can assure you, I'm not going anywhere and leaving you alone with them. Francis would kill you in a second." Nick said.

Ellis smiled a bit at the fire.

"You've grown on me, Overalls, as much as I hate to admit it." Nick saw Ellis' slightly shocked and confused expression. "The only reason I'm admitting that is cuz this fever is fucking with my head. But, you're alright."

Ellis chuckled a bit. "Thanks, Nick."

Nick looked at him. "And another thing, no bro tattoos!"

The kid snorted and gave a small laugh.

Nick laughed after a moment and soon both men were laughing until their sides hurt. It wasn't a happy laugh, the laughs that came from the two men were hysterical, terrified laughs.

"What's so funny?" Zoey asked.

Ellis took in a deep breath and tried to compose himself. "I don't know," he managed to say before another laugh escaped him.

Nick laid back and started taking long, deep inhales. After a moment, he managed to get himself to calm down. The throbbing in his head returned and he felt weak, he could barely lift his eyelids. He watched as they dropped lower and lower like a curtain on a stage. He was surrounded in darkness in less than a minute.

Ellis watched Nick as his breathing slowed.

"I can't tell if he fell asleep or passed out," the kid said.

Zoey shrugged and set Nick's coat aside and cracked her sore knuckles. "Why does he have to love that damn coat so much?" she asked.

Ellis looked at her, his face dropping. "Do ya really think he's gonna die?" he asked.

"I don't know, Ellis." Zoey ran her hands through her hair and sighed. "This is the last thing we need right now."

Ellis just bit his lip and looked away.

Zoey patted the dirt next to her, a gesture for Ellis to move closer to her.

The kid glanced nervously at Francis' sleeping form.

"It's alright, he's a heavy sleeper, come here," Zoey patted the dirt beside her again.

Ellis sat beside her. Neither spoke, both stared at the slowly dying fire.

Off in the distance, low growls and snarls could be heard as nearby infected were slowly drawn to the small flames.

"We should probably put the fire out," Ellis said.

Zoey nodded and tossed some dirt on the fire, making it smaller. "I'll put it out completely once you fall asleep," she said. "I'll stay up and keep watch."

Ellis sighed. "I'll stay up with ya, I can't sleep anyway."

The fire had pretty much died down to a few glowing embers and a few tiny flames, desperately trying to stay alive.

Above, the clouds from earlier had moved along, revealing hundreds of tiny stars twinkling in the black velvety sky.

Zoey looked up and frowned a bit.

"You know what's weird? The entire world is dying and yet, nature doesn't change. The stars still shine, the trees continue to lose their leaves for winter, the rivers still run strong..." her voice died.

"The entire world ain't dying, Zoe, just us," Ellis muttered.

That earned a concerned glance from the girl next to him. Ellis just continued to stare at the last few glowing embers left in the crudely made fire pit.

Zoey gently rubbed his back in a comforting manner. "Everything's gonna be ok, El," she said, knowing what his thoughts were. "This whole thing hasn't been easy on any of us."

"I know," was all he said.

"You know..." Zoey took a breath. "You know how I first found out about the infection? I was having dinner with my parents and someone burst in and bit my mom. She turned and bit my dad. He shot her and killed her and then begged me to shoot him so he couldn't hurt anyone. I did it, just to find out that he could have been immune..." She wiped the few tears that had fallen.

Strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

"'M sorry," Ellis said quietly as he hugged her.

Zoey inhaled deeply, trying to keep herself from crying. She leaned into Ellis, finding comfort in his hug.

The two sat that way for a while. Zoey resting her head on Ellis' chest listening to his ragged breathing, careful not to put too much pressure on his ribs. The young man kept his arms wrapped around her tightly not only comforting her but himself as well.

"You know..." Zoey started with a sad tone to her voice. She looked up and met Ellis' gaze. "I wish I could have met you before this whole infection started." Even though she knew she shouldn't she reached up and gave Ellis a quick kiss on the cheek before moving away from him and checking to make sure the fire was out.

Ellis looked away from her, red in the face. "Yeah, me too..." he said quietly.

Zoey looked at him and watched as he started to nod off.

"I can keep watch, Ellis," she said, feeling her own exhaustion starting to creep up and try to take over.

"'M... fine..." The kid's eyes closed and he was asleep before his head hit the ground.

Sleep caught up with Zoey moments later. She fought to keep her eyes open. The gun in her hand clattered to the dirt and her head bobbed to one side and then the other. It was a battle she knew she was going to lose.

As her eyes slid close, she glanced at the woods behind Nick just in time to see a dark figure disappear into nothingness.

Her eyes closed and she let sleep claim her.

Shaking, drenched in sweat, unable to tell up from down.

Nick opened his eyes and found himself in a small room with no windows and the only door was blocked off.

He couldn't recall how he had ended up in the room or what had happened to Ellis, Zoey or Francis.

Climbing to his feet was a chore in itself, his legs shaking and his head spinning. Black and blue spots filled his vision and he groaned loudly.

The groan made him freeze. Had that sound just come out of his mouth?

"The hell?" he muttered but all he heard was a series of grunts and growls.

Panic rose in his chest. He looked down to check his bite from the infected woman. The site he saw instead made him shake violently.

His clothes were torn, pretty much shredded ruins. No part of what remained of his suit was white, the whole thing was stained a deep red. His hands were red and wet, his nails crusted and cracked. Tiny chunks of some odd substance were jammed under the remains of his nails. When he thought of what it was he felt bile rise in his throat and bent over and vomited all down the front of him, but he didn't care.

The vomit smelled more foul than normal and splashed all over what remained of Nick's shoes. Something lay on the floor next to his feet and it also was in the splash zone.

"No!" Nick wailed once he saw the object, only a low inhuman moan.

Still shaking violently, he grabbed what remained of the thing at his feet in his grimy hands.

"No!" Nick moaned again.

The fabric was so stained and mutilated, if Nick hadn't seen it so much, he never would have been able to recognize it.

He ran a thumb over the white tow truck, smearing more blood onto the already filthy fabric. The little tow truck, that was all that was left.

Nick fell to his knees, he had killed them, all of them, while they slept. They had no chance to fight back, it was too late.

He looked up and saw a pair of luminous yellow eyes staring back at him. It took him a moment to realize they were his own.

He was a monster, a killer, one of them.

Looking down at the tow truck in his hands, he opened his mouth wide and let out an angry scream that came out an infected wail.

After all the fear, pain, suffering and torment he went through, this was how it ended up.

He didn't make it and because of him, neither did anyone else.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** If there are any mistakes, I apologize, the only time I really had to work on this was at two in the morning, but I will try to fix any mistakes as I find them.


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N**: Made a small change to the chapter towards the end, shortly after I posted this and started the next chapter, I decided to make a change, Enjoy!

* * *

><p>The more he looked at the haunting yellow eyes staring back at him, the more hatred that bubbled inside of him.<p>

He had turned into a bloodthirsty beast and managed to kill all those around him but was still human enough to feel guilt and remorse.

Tow truck still clenched in his bloody fist, Nick growled and swung out and hit the mirror. The reflective glass shattered and shards stuck into his hand.

Happy he could no longer see the monster looking back at him, he unclenched his hand. The glass shards ripped at his skin, but he couldn't feel them.

Suddenly, the sight of the glass in his hand pissed him off. He could still see bits of his reflection. Nick began to shake with rage. After a moment, the room followed suit.

Glass shards danced across the floor as the walls began to crumble.

"NICK! NICK!"

A loud noise shook the walls and caused him to cover his ears and growl menacingly.

"NICK!"

Nick closed his eyes as the room began to fall apart, the noise was so loud it was shaking the room apart. The barricade blocking the door shook and threatened to fall on him and crush him.

"NICK!"

He couldn't take it anymore. The roof and walls started to crumble into nothing. Nick ripped at his hair and began to scream. He wanted it toend.

"NICK!"

Throwing back his head, Nick screamed in guilt and anger. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of the barricade finally start to fall over. It would all be over soon.

"NICK!"

The last thing he saw was a dark form rushing at him, crushing him.

He was still screaming when his eyes shot open and light burned his retinas. Nick tried to close his eyes but the thought of darkness scared him.

Unsure of what had happened or what was going on, he began to flail and continued to scream.

"NICK!"

That sound, it had been a voice, calling his name. But he couldn't stop screaming to answer.

There was a loud crack and the vices that had been clamped around his arms suddenly disappeared.

"Nick! Wake up!" another voice called out.

That's when he saw it, the tow truck, intact and where it was supposed to be.

Faces filled his vision, their expressions worried.

"Nick, stop screaming! You're ok!" one of the faces said.

A gloved hand was slapped over his mouth, trying to muffle the terrified screams that still escaped his throat. Hands were pushing him down, pinning him to the ground.

"Ellis! Toss me that health kit now!" One of the faces yelled.

The tow truck moved from Nick's vision.

He closed his eyes, he needed to stop screaming. He tried but the more he did so, the more vivid the illuminating eyes were.

The glove was removed from his mouth and something cold was forced under his tongue.

"Nick! Stop screaming! Yer gonna attract them zombies," The tow truck returned in his line of vision, the face underneath worn and half covered in blood.

Ellis, he was alive. Nick finally recognized the other two faces, Zoey and Francis. They were alive, he hadn't killed them.

Nick's body went limp and his brain finally allowed him to stop screaming. A dream, it had only been a dream. He lay on his back and felt the six hands release him.

The object under his tongue was a thermometer and Zoey grabbed it and looked at it with a frown.

"His fever has gotten worse," she muttered. "He's at 103.8 now."

Nick groaned.

"Does that mean anythin'?" Ellis asked.

Zoey shrugged and turned to Nick. "Now that you're done with your screaming fit, how are you feeling?" she asked him.

"Just wonderful," Nick choked out, his throat raw from screaming.

"I bet, you've only been lying there screaming for the past ten minutes or so. Must have been one hell of a nightmare," the college student said. She sanitized the thermometer and placed it back in the red bag. She handed a tissue to Ellis.

The kid held it to his nose and began to clean himself up.

Francis leaned over Nick. "Gotta admit, you can really deal some damage."

Nick looked over and watched Ellis wipe the blood off his face, his nose starting to swell and darken. In his fit he must have swung and hit the kid.

He closed his eyes and sighed. Through the darkness, he could see those haunting eyes and stained suit. He cringed and felt his head began to throb.

"We should get moving," he heard Zoey say somewhere to his left.

A shotgun was cocked. "Which way we going?" Francis asked.

"I haven't the slightest clue. Nick had us following the river hoping to find the others." was Zoey's reply.

"Nick? Ya alright?"

Nick opened his eyes and saw Ellis standing above him, his bruised face twisted into a worried frown.

"Yeah, I'm fine kid," he let Ellis pull him to his feet.

The kid eyed him. "Can ya walk?" he asked.

Nick stumbled forward a few steps. "Yeah, just a headache, I've been through worse."

With one last worried glance, Ellis grabbed his chainsaw and turned to follow Zoey and Francis as they started walking.

As soon as Ellis' back was turned, Nick slumped against a tree and took a few deeps breaths. Sweat beaded on his forehead and he felt like every step he took was on water and that he was going to sink and drown.

He pulled up his sleeve and looked at the bite. It was deep and had turned an angry red and swelled up. Something yellow oozed out of the wound if Nick moved his arm too much.

Nick pulled his sleeve down and wiped the sweat dripping down his face while muttering to himself. "I'm not gonna make it..."

###

Red was normally a color of warning or danger, but in the survivors case it was a sign of hope and safety.

As soon as Zoey caught a glance of the shiney red through the trees, she took off running. The whole time praying it wasn't her imagination.

The red grew bigger and more promising. Then metal bars and an exit sign were visible.

Zoey collapsed to her knees.

"Thank God!" she cried, laughing in relief.

"What?!" she could hear the others trying to catch up to her. With a crash Ellis fell beside her.

Francis shook his head at the clumsy kid, holding a barely conscious Nick up. "About damn time!" he muttered in relief.

Zoey quickly got back to her feet and ran to the door and yanked it open. "Finally, s-"

She was cut off by a mournful sob followed by a menacing growl. The college girl froze, door half open and one foot in the safe house.

There, in the middle of the floor, sat the crying woman. She turned her yellow eyes to the young woman opening the door and disturbing her. A low growl rumbled in her throat.

Zoey stood frozen to the spot. She watched as the skinny infected slowly got up, growling louder and louder.

"Zoey!" Arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back.

The Witch let out one last growl before she sprinted full force at Zoey and whoever was holding her.

With a clang, a black boot kicked the door shut. Frustrated, the Witch stuck her hand through the bars and screamed, trying to hit anyone that got too close.

"Ya alright?" Ellis asked as he let Zoey go.

Shaking, Zoey nodded. "Yeah... that's supposed to be a safe house! There's nothing safe about that!" she pointed at the snarling infected trapped inside.

Francis shook his head. "Can't we just kill her and go inside?" he asked. He set Nick down underneath a nearby tree. Nick said nothing.

Ellis looked at him. "Ya got anymore ammo?" he asked.

Breaking his shotgun open, the big man sighed and shook his head. "Nope."

Zoey checked her hunting rifle and both of Nick's pistols. "Nothing here either."

Francis walked up to Ellis and gave him a good shove, knocking him to the ground. Ellis hit with a loud thud. The chainsaw was ripped from his back.

"Francis stop!" Zoey cried.

"What's wrong with using this?" Francis asked ignoring Zoey completely.

The kid glared up from where he lay in the dirt and spat. "It's outta gas, moron," Ellis snapped before he could stop himself.

Francis glared down at him and sneered. "You better watch yourself, tough guy Nicky can't come save your ass."

The bigger man was shoved back and pierced with furious green eyes.

"You better watch yourself," Zoey snapped. "There are better things you can be wasting your energy on, like trying to get that dumb bitch out of our safe house with no weapons."

Francis' eyes quick flickered to Ellis before he smiled at the young woman before him. "You're cute when you're mad," with that said, he kissed Zoey and walked off.

Ellis looked away and began to pick himself up off the ground, cursing himself silently. He heard her approach and his neck and cheeks began to burn.

"You alright?" he heard her ask.

"Fine," Ellis muttered, his face growing hotter. "'M gonna go look around fer shit we can use." Embarrassed, he quickly walked away before Zoey could say anything else.

He walked quickly through the trees. Mixed emotions coursed through him as he walked. Nick was dying, there was no doubt about that, whether he died of fever or turned into one of... them... it was clear to Ellis he wasn't going to make it much longer.

That alone made Ellis want to lie down and quit.

Without Nick things would only get worse, Francis was already pushing him around. Thinking about how bad it would get once Nick was fully out of the picture made Ellis shudder and clench his fists.

Francis was a prick.

Ellis had no choice but to assume Coach and Rochelle were dead. Being seperated this long, just the two of them, the chances of them surviving weren't exactly promising, even if they did manage to meet up with Louis.

And then there was Zoey.

Ellis stopped walking. He was drenched in sweat and breathing heavy. Taking a break, he leaned against a tree and closed his eyes.

That's when he realized he couldn't hear the Witch's shrieks anymore.

Opening his eyes, he looked around. Nothing looked familiar, except...

A dark figure stood under a few trees just a short ways from Ellis.

The kid blinked and the figure was still there.

"H-Hello?" he stuttered, fear rising, causing a lump in his throat.

The figure didn't move.

Ellis broke a branch off the tree he was leaning against, desperate for a weapon.

"Who are you?" he called out. When he didn't get a reply, he began to panic. "If ya dont say anthin', I'll beat ya!"

Once again, the figure didn't move and silence hung thick in the air.

Ellis began to tremble slightly.

Then, ever so softly, he heard a whisper that made his blood run ice cold in his veins.

"You better run, kid."

The whisper was so close, Ellis turned and expected to see Francis playing a trick on him but when he turned, no one was there.

"What the hell?" Ellis breathed quietly to himself, his heartbeat pounding in his ears.

When he turned back to the figure, he saw it was coming towards him.

"You better run, kid."

And he did. Ellis turned tail and took off at full sprint. He didn't pay attention to where he was going, he just wanted to get away from the figure.

He could hear it following him and gaining.

Branches scratched the kid's face as he ran and vegetation tried to trip him up.

The figure grew closer and Ellis felt something brush against his back, like whatever was chasing had tried to grab him. Ellis forced himself to run faster.

His chest began to burn and his vision darkened due to lack of oxygen. Then his boot hit an upraised root.

Ellis crashed to the ground. Footsteps approached him rapidly.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Ellis screamed and covered his face, panic taking control.

"What's going on?"

Ellis lifted his head up and saw a pair of black biker boots and worn converses. Those shoes belonged to the kid's two fellow survivors.

Out of breath, Ellis pointed behind him.

"Somethin's chasing me!" he breathed. "It- It tried ta grab me!"

Francis stepped over Ellis and looked in the trees where Ellis had just run out of. He gave a small laugh. "There's nothing there!"

"Huh?" Ellis rolled over and looked to where Francis was searching. The figure that had been chasing him had disappeared.

"Ellis, you ok?" Zoey asked.

Ellis shook his head. "He's gone..."

###

Unable to kill the Witch, the group decided to camp outside the safe house that night and try to deal with her tomorrow.

Zoey started a fire as Francis continued to look for whatever had chased Ellis.

"There's nothing out there, kid," he said finally. He sat beside Zoey who was tending to Nick.

Ellis stared at the fire. "I ain't makin' it up, Nick said he saw it too," he muttered.

"And Nick is fucked up right now, who knows what he sees and thinks he sees."

Ellis just glared at the bigger man but said nothing more.

Zoey stretched. "Alright, Nick's out cold, we should probably try to get some sleep too, who wants first watch?" she asked.

"I'll do it," Ellis volunteered.

Francis snorted. "Don't fall asleep or else I will kick your ass!" he grumbled.

The youngest member just rolled his eyes and continued to stare at the fire.

Zoey curled into a ball and Francis laid beside her.

"Wake me up in two hours and I'll take over, ok?" Zoey said.

Ellis just nodded.

The couple were fast asleep within 15 minutes. Barely an hour into his shift, Ellis' head began to bob and his eyes slid shut.

With a soft thud, he fell onto his side and began to snore lightly.

All four were asleep. That gave him the cover to move forward.

It didn't take much for him to stay silent. He crept around the snoring southerner he had almost caught earlier that day. He could take him now, but that was too easy.

The sick one, Nick grumbled and sat up. He looked around, his eyes bloodshot and cheeks flushed, he reeked of fever and death.

Nick glanced in his direction but didn't seem to see him before his eyes rolled back into his head and he fell back to the ground.

Creeping towards the red door, he had to step over the other two but he didn't disturb them.

The Witch had grown tired of trying to attack the survivors through the door and went back to pacing and sobbing quietly.

He opened the door and the Witch looked at him but didn't attack right away. Instead, she just watched him through her bloody claws.

The figure turned and looked at the pale woman with a smile as she just stood there and looked at him. She didn't utter a sound or make any move to attack.

There was a table just behind her full on the typical safe room supplies, ammo, guns, food and medkits. He stepped around the Witch. The woman turned, her eyes never leaving him.

He paid her no attention and grabbed all the ammo and guns he could carry and left the safe room.

A cough made him jump.

Nick rolled over and began to cough violently, waking the others.

Not bothering to shut the door, he gripped the guns and ammo and disappeared into the darkness.

###

Nick's coughing woke them all up.

Ellis sat up and looked at him bleary eyed. "Nick?" he muttered groggily.

The man in the suit's reply was a spew of foul smelling vomit splashing onto the ground in front of him.

Zoey and and Francis sat up.

"Nick, are you alright?" Zoey asked.

Nick shook his head as he coughed and more vomit let his mouth.

The other three stood up, unsure what to do.

Nick began to shake violently with each cough.

"Nick?" Ellis said again, his voice weaker.

The older man looked up at him, his pupils dilated and his own vomit running down his face. His voice was hoarse and haunting when he spoke.

"Kill me."

Ellis' stomach knotted up. "W-what?" he felt dizzy.

Nick coughed. "I'm infected, kill me now!"


End file.
